New surface for Dubai’s busy airport

Dubai’s busy international airport is now benefiting from new runway and taxiway areas that will help boost capacity. The upgrades are much needed as the airport is one of the world’s busiest in terms of international flights. Data from the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) says that in 2013, air passenger traffic worldwide topped 3.1 billion, and demand is expected to continue to grow. The combination of more flights and growing numbers of larger and more sophisticated aircraft like the A
January 6, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Dubai’s international airport now has new runway surfaces with bitumen having been supplied by Shell Bitumen

Dubai’s busy international airport is now benefiting from new runway and taxiway areas that will help boost capacity. The upgrades are much needed as the airport is one of the world’s busiest in terms of international flights.

Data from the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) says that in 2013, air passenger traffic worldwide topped 3.1 billion, and demand is expected to continue to grow.

The combination of more flights and growing numbers of larger and more sophisticated aircraft like the Airbus A380 means that the world’s busiest international airports are having to redevelop their runways and taxiways. The Airbus A380 weighs close to 400tonnes and landings of this huge aircraft can place enormous stresses on runway structures.

As a result, special techniques and materials are required to build the runways to ensure that they can cope with the immense engineering loads exerted.

When Dubai International Airport required its two runways to be upgraded and resurfaced in May 2014, 763 Shell Bitumen was approached by contractor Al Naboodah Construction Group to provide special bitumen solutions for this logistically challenging project. The company was able to provide special bitumen technologies to meet the demands of the project. In the past, Shell Bitumen has provide materials for use on other major airports, including Heathrow in the UK, Charles de Gaulle in France, Schiphol in the Netherlands, HKIA in Hong Kong, Changi in Singapore, KLIA in Malaysia, Frankfurt in Germany and Suvarnabhumi in Thailand.

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