Asphalt the ideal choice for airport runways.
The majority of airport runways are constructed with asphalt pavements. Asphalt is used on 85% of the runways at general aviation airports. Asphalt’s speed of construction makes it an ideal choice for rehabilitation of busy aviation facilities.
Asphalt mixtures are widely employed in the surfacing of runways and aircraft handling areas on a wide range of airfields, from international airports regularly used by the heaviest airliners, through military airfields carrying high performance jet aircraft and the smaller domestic airfields regularly used by light or medium-sized aircraft to the smallest private airfield used by light single or twin-seat aircraft.
The operational flexibility of asphalt contributes to the success of its use as a surfacing material for airfields, with early high impact trafficking possible. With careful design, asphalt can withstand the high demands of airfield sites for long periods of time, and continuing development of asphalt products will ensure that this remains the case.
More information can be found in:
The EAPA Paper - Airfield uses of asphalt – 2003* https://eapa.org/members-login/
