DUBLIN AIRPORT has today opened its brand new north runway, with the first commercial flight due to take off later today.
The 3.1km runway will provide extra capacity for growth for the airport in the future, and has been completed to a budget of €320m.
It included the building and installation of over 300,000 square metre of new runways and taxiways, 6km of new internal airport roads, 7.5km of electrical cable and more than 2,000 new runway and taxiway lights.
It will be capable of servicing larger long-haul aircraft, including the Boeing 747-8 and Airbus A 380-800.
It has previously said that the new runway will enhance Ireland’s connectivity, support the creation of 31,200 Irish jobs and €2.2 billion in additional economic activity by 2043.
Just one commercial flight will take of between 11.30am and 12.30pm from the runway today, and then from tomorrow it will operate between 9am and 1pm, with the operational hours gradually being extended to 7am to 6pm.
Anyone who would like to watch the first take-off live from the runway can do so by visiting the Dublin Airport YouTube account.
