Essential airfield radar maintenance ‘must be done in daylight for safety reasons’

Essential radar maintenance that may cause disruption to Gibraltar flights next week involves constructing work that must be carried out in daylight hours for safety reasons, the Ministry of Defence said.

The MoD was explaining the work after it warned passengers in a brief statement on Friday of potential disruption to commercial flights between May 12 and May 15.

Passengers scheduled to fly after 12.15pm on these dates were advised to check with their airline for the latest updates.

“Completing the maintenance in May maximises our ability to complete the necessary work while avoiding the peak summer flight schedule, thereby minimising disruption,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence told the Chronicle.

“We have chosen time periods where the minimum number of flights will be impacted, and ensured the work will be conducted in as short a time as possible.”

“Unfortunately working overnight is not possible for this particular activity.”

Routine yearly maintenance on Gibraltar’s radar does not impact flights.

But the maintenance next week, which occurs every three years, involves more significant work and must be carried out in daytime hours to ensure safety.

“This maintenance requires us to build a specialist climbing frame within the radome, which must then be removed prior to the radar being powered up,” the MoD spokesperson said.

“The total time for radar shut down, frame build and deconstruct, and power up is approximately two hours.”

“This does not include time for any work to take place.”

“If we segment the maintenance into smaller time periods, we will extend overall the duration of work, and greatly increase risk of disruption.”

“It is also not possible to complete the work overnight due the requirement for good lighting conditions, and due to the increased safety risk to our personnel.”

The MoD said it was up to each individual airline as to what steps they would take to mitigate any disruption.

“We understand the times of some flights have been amended, but we advise all passengers to check with their airline for up-to-date information on the status of their flight,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for easyJet said the airline had already adjusted its flight schedule and alerted passengers.

“Just four return flights that are due to operate in the maintenance times over the period have been rescheduled and we’ve contacted customers to notify them of the new flight times and information on how to contact our customer service team to discuss their options if they are no longer convenient,” a spokesperson for the airline told the Chronicle.