Fewer flights affected than expected during St. John's runway work
Primary runway work 25% done, progress is on schedule to wrap up at the end of September
St. John's International Airport Authority says the major construction project on its main runway appears to be having less of an impact than had been predicted.
The authority's figures for June show that a 22 arriving flights, and subsequent departing flights, were affected due to the work on the airport's primary runway.
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According to the authority, that represents 1.6 per cent of all flights at St. John's International.
The primary runway was closed on June 1 to accommodate the upgrade work planned. The airport is using its secondary runway through much of the summer.
On the secondary runway, any winds above 60 km/h can cause delays or cancellations because that runway is not equipped to deal with some weather conditions.
Construction to the main runway is 25 per cent finished and the authority says the work is on track to finish up on schedule in the fall.
The work is being done is to install a new landing system that is meant to cut back on the number of fog-related delays at the airport and accommodate a higher volume of passenger traffic through St. John's.
That new equipment will mean the airport's annual accessibility will increase to 99 per cent from 93.8 per cent currently.
According to the authority, St. John's International will be the fourth airport to install the system.