Runway repairs now completed

RUNWAY repairs at King Island Airport were undertaken earlier this month and King island Council reports they were smoothly completed without major disruption.

Earlier this month, a pavement failure on Runway 28 was reported, where the pavement started deforming and the seal began to crack under traffic. 

The council’s works team profiled the failed area and stabilised it with cement, which took longer than expected to cure, with overnight rain causing the repaired area to degrade further under traffic, leading to rutting. 

To temporarily strengthen the rutted area before full reconstruction, a layer of material was applied and rolled into place.

The patch was then tested with a fully laden seven-ton truck at speed to ensure it could handle the weight of aircraft. The test confirmed that the pavement could withstand up to Metro-sized aircraft.

As a precaution, a restriction was placed on Runway 28, limiting its use to aircraft weighing below 7000kg. 

Council staff communicated with Sharp Airlines, who were comfortable continuing their operations, provided that a work crew was on standby to address any issues from loose material or deformation after each aircraft movement.

This allowed Sharp Airlines to operate without disruption. However, there were concerns that REX Airlines’ heavier planes could disturb the patch, especially if they landed at high speed on Runway 28. 

As a result, a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was issued, restricting REX to using Runway 10, where they would only taxi or roll out at lower speeds over the repair.

Despite this, REX’s Chief Pilot decided the risk was too great and suspended services to the airport until the repairs were fully completed. Reconstruction work was finished on schedule, and the runway reopened to traffic. 

REX passengers experienced a 30-minute delay, but departed without further issues, and the airport returned to normal operations. 

King Island Air was not impacted by the pavement failure or repair process.