JFK Closes Runway for Work

Yesterday marked the closure of JFK's longest runway, the 14,572 foot-long 13R/31L, which starts an eight-month process that won't be fun. But it's also a necessary process, as the runway has not had any major work done for 17 years and is in need of repair. The runway, which is the second-longest commercial runway in the country, will be widened by 50 feet (to 200 feet) to better accommodate the A380, and its surface will be changed to more-durable concrete. Taxiways are also being worked on to better improve the flow of traffic on the ground. So, when all is said and done, this a positive. But the next few months might be tough for travelers.

13R/31L happens to handle of lot of JFK's traffic, so when that's pulled out of the system, the potential for delays increases, and JFK's performance isn't the best already. So what's being done to combat that? The biggest change is that airlines have cut back on their flying. Or, one could view it as the airlines won't switch to busier summer schedules until July. According to numbers from the New York Times, that means the number of flights in June will be down about 19% from normal. Of course, that means less seats, which could mean some bumped up fares.

So when does everything come back to normal? Not for awhile. The runway will reopen in June, but only a portion will be usable. And then another runway, 4L/22R, will be closed for half of September when crews work on the area where this runway intersects with 13R/31L. Right now, everything's slated to be done by November 16th.

You can find more details, and detailed diagrams of alternate runway configurations that will be used during the closure over at NYCAviation.

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