Debrecen4U July 18, 2024

Traffic has resumed at Debrecen International Airport

The runway damaged by the heat has been repaired, and Debrecen Airport is back in operation after a week of forced closure.

Debrecen International Airport welcomes and launches aircraft again. The airport reopened last night and has since been used by Wizz Air. 

As reported earlier, on the evening of the 11th of July, during an inspection of the runway at Debrecen International Airport, airport staff detected a defect in the condition of the concrete surface caused by thermal expansion due to the extremely high and prolonged temperature. The concrete elements expanded and several were damaged, and the airport was closed. It is not unprecedented for extreme heat to cause damage to an airport runway and cause traffic to be shut down, as happened in London in 2022.

The staff of Debrecen International Airport Ltd., in close professional cooperation with the Ministry of National Economy and the Municipality of Debrecen, immediately started to repair the damage caused to the runway last Thursday and replace the concrete slabs.

Subsequently, the experts carried out further condition surveys and technical inspections in order to put the runway back into operation while minimising the risk to aviation safety.

During the forced closure, the vast majority of flights were diverted to Liszt Ferenc International Airport, with passengers being taken by bus from Debrecen International Airport to Budapest.

With the reopening of Debrecen airport, DKV airport bus services are also running again.

Source: dehir.hu