Schiphol has established the preliminary schedule for runway maintenance in 2025. This includes major maintenance for the Buitenveldertbaan Runway next year. You can read more about what this entails here.
The schedule for the annual runway maintenance—necessary to keep our runways and surrounding taxiways safe and in good condition—is a complex puzzle. We consider the interests of our neighbours as well as the needs and requirements of contractors and air traffic.
Major maintenance on the Buitenveldertbaan
In addition to various periods of short and regular maintenance, one of our runways undergoes major maintenance each year. In 2025, it will be the Buitenveldertbaan’s turn. The current plan is for maintenance to take place from 10 May to 28 September. During this time, we will replace the asphalt, foundation, and all cabling of the runway itself and the surrounding taxiways. This is necessary because some components have been in use for over 50 years.
Not in winter
We strive to schedule major maintenance outside the summer months as much as possible. In this case, we are making an exception due to the need for de-icing aircraft in winter. De-icing is essential to ensure safe flights. The de-icing platform is located right next to the Buitenveldertbaan. Since we will also be working on the surrounding taxiways during the major maintenance, this platform will not be accessible during that period. Therefore, maintenance on this runway cannot take place in winter.
Minimising impact on the surroundings
To minimise the impact on the surroundings, we are combining maintenance on the Buitenveldertbaan with other projects and with the replacement of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) by Air Traffic Control the Netherlands. This way, we need to take the runway out of service less often, and the next major maintenance will occur in nine years instead of seven. The Buitenveldertbaan is also frequently used during the storm season due to its location. Since the chance of a westerly storm is much lower in the summer, the likelihood of needing to use alternative runways during the maintenance period is also greatly reduced. By scheduling maintenance during this period, we limit the impact on the surroundings.
Alternative runway use
When a runway is under maintenance, it is unavailable for take-offs and landings. We therefore use alternative runways to handle air traffic. This requires an exemption, so we have submitted a request to the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management. We understand that using alternative runways may result in additional noise nuisance for residents around these alternative runways. We are working on various measures to reduce the disturbance wherever possible.
NATO Summit 2025
It is worth noting that the runway maintenance on the Buitenveldertbaan coincides with the NATO Summit to be held in The Hague at the end of June 2025. During the summit, Schiphol will welcome government leaders from NATO-member states and their delegations. We are currently assessing the impact of this on Schiphol, our operations, and (any alternative) runway use during the Buitenveldertbaan maintenance. We will communicate further information as it becomes available.
More information
Would you like to stay informed about when runway maintenance will take place? Subscribe to the neighbour newsletter to receive monthly updates with all the information about runway maintenance, alternative runway use, and other developments and activities at and around Schiphol that are relevant to you as a neighbour. Current information about air traffic to and from Schiphol can be found at bezoekbas.nl.