Airport Facilities Maintenance

Airport facilities maintenance represent a real challenge due to their diverse nature and broad scope. The airport is a processing facility for passengers, baggage and freight. Additionally,  every airport acts as a service facility to aircraft and airlines. An airport comprises infrastructure, facilities, equipment, systems and personnel. All of the components of an airport operation aim to create a satisfactory customer experience.

The efficiency of the airport facilities maintenance has a significant impact on airport performance, as it impacts safety, financial performance, user and passenger satisfaction.

For decades, Belzona has been providing airport facilities maintenance crews with a wide range of repair and maintenance solutions.  that require minimal downtime, promote safety and ensure longevity in service. Belzona polymeric materials for airport facilities maintenance have a proven record in assisting airports in various areas: airside, landside and auxiliary systems (power generation, wastewater management, waste management). In this post, we discuss the most typical maintenance issues that airport facilities maintenance crews may experience. And, we demonstrate which of the Belzona polymeric solutions help airports tackle their repair and maintenance situations with success.

Airport Facilities Maintenance Areas

On the airside of the airport facilities maintenance, concrete suffers the most damage. In our previous post “Concrete Solutions From Floor to Ceiling” we talked about the most common causes of concrete damage: freeze-thaw cycles, shrinkage, carbonation, abrasion. Airport facilities are not foreign to that. Temperature fluctuations, seasonality, fuels spillage and de-icing chemicals, heavy traffic load and physical impact during landing contribute to concrete damage.

Repairing a runway and a taxiway is not an easy task. Any downtime caused by repairs may result in flight delays, potential loss of revenue, and unsatisfactory Customer experience. Airports look for durable and long-lasting materials, that do not require lengthy shutdowns or closures to be installed.

Erosion-corrosion, weathering, physical impact and movement cause damage to the buildings and structures on the airside of an airport. The main areas of concern in facilities are walls, roofs and external/internal floors including expansion joints. Metal structures suffered from corrosion might cause failure to some of the most vital equipment like PAPI, lights, and stands. Like with the runways, repairs on any other structures on the airside need to be done in a timely manner with minimal disturbance to the air traffic.

Depending on the airport geographical location, the airport facilities structural integrity might be compromised by a number of factors. Typically, deterioration of concrete, stonework, and construction joints failure is caused by weather, erosion-corrosion, chemical attack, physical impact, and structural movement. Weatherproofing and waterproofing of external walls, repair or replacement of construction joints, concrete restoration and reinforcement are some of the methods that help preserve the walls and structural integrity.

Weathering and/or physical damage to roofs and roof parts: joints, seams, edges, glazing sections, gutters, flashings, skylights, parapet walls and copings, pipes and pipe supports. The damage is typically caused by weather and freeze-thaw cycles, failure of roof materials, substrate movement or impact.

Damage to internal/external concrete floors, slippery transit and pedestrian areas, failure of expansion joints, – all these factors contribute to creating safety hazards.

Erosion-corrosion and chemical attack damage to components of HVAC units.

Erosion-corrosion damage to pipes and pipework, and water boilers and storage tanks.

Corrosion, physical impact and wear from passenger and luggage transport, heavy foot traffic and movement.

A curbside appeal of any business creates the customers’ first impression. Airports are no different.  Decorative structures located outdoors often suffer from concrete and metal damage due to erosion-corrosion, weathering, freeze-thaw cycle and physical impact. To maintain the curbside appeal pleasant-looking, inviting and safe, the decorative structures, floors and areas need to be repaired and/or provided with preventative maintenance.

Typically, corrosion related to elevated pressure and temperature causes damage to boilers, steam turbines, heat exchangers, and pipework.

Erosion-corrosion on sedimentation and flotation clarifiers, aeration tanks, holding tanks, pipework, pumps, and centrifuges. For more information on problems that the wastewater industry may experience and solutions that Belzona may offer, read our post “Polymeric Solutions for Water and Wastewater Industries”.