We will be carrying out work on the markings on the Polderbaan Runway from 23:00 on Monday 27 May to 06:00 on Wednesday 29 May. Because the Polderbaan cannot be used for air traffic during this period, the Zwanenburgbaan Runway will be used instead whenever possible. During daytime peaks, the Buitenveldertbaan Runway can be used as a second runway, depending on the wind direction at the time. At times of poor visibility or when there are strong winds from the south, the Schiphol-Oostbaan Runway can also be used for landing. At night, depending on the wind, air traffic can land on the Zwanenburgbaan Runway (in both directions) and take off in a southerly direction (runway 18C, when there's a southerly wind). When there's a northerly wind, take-offs will take place at night from the Kaagbaan Runway in a northeasterly direction (runway 06).
Published on: 17 May 2024
What exactly are we going to do?
The runway markings on the Polderbaan are in poor condition. You can imagine that it is important, for safety reasons, that these markings are clearly visible. We are therefore going to remove the old markings and apply new markings to ensure that we can continue to use the runway safely.
Why aren't we doing that during regular maintenance?
Because the Polderbaan is a preferred runway, we strive to carry out work (whenever possible) in one go. This is to limit the impact on the local environment as much as possible. We call this clustering. In this way, we ensure that our runways require maintenance for as short a time as is necessary, and that this maintenance causes as little modified runway use and associated noise nuisance as possible. This aim has been established in our runway maintenance strategy.
Unfortunately, in this specific case it is not possible to postpone the work any longer because the risk of problems would increase significantly. The markings were supposed to be renewed during regular maintenance in the autumn of 2023 (week 45), but that was not possible at the time due to rain and damp weather.
Why don't we just do it at night or at a quieter time?
Because the Polderbaan is a preferred runway, works are planned to be as short and stable as possible. Only working at night makes for a longer and more unstable schedule due to damp conditions (and possibly too cold temperatures of < 10 degrees). The process of removing all markings is possible under all conditions, however, so this will start at 23:00 on Monday night. All new markings will be applied on Tuesday from 06:00 to 23:00. Between 23:00 and 06:00 the next day, the newly applied markings will have time to dry.
Want to know more?
Want to know which runways are in use? Check the Notifly app. If you have any questions about runway maintenance or air traffic, you can contact the Local Community Contact Centre Schiphol (BAS) on 020 601 55 55 or by sending a message to info@mailbas.nl. They also publish the expected runway use every day.