High Quality Materials Make for Smooth Landing at UK Airport
LOCATION
London Luton Airport,
Luton, Bedfordshire, LU2 9LY
SECTOR
Infrastructure; Transport; Airports
PRODUCTS USED
Premium single sized aggregates
Asphalt Sand; Granite Fines
THE BRIEF
The £18-million runway resurfacing programme began in November 2025 and marked the first full renewal of the 1.3-mile runway since 2006.
Under UK aviation safety requirements, major runways typically require resurfacing every 20 years to remain compliant and safe for aircraft operations.
Specialist contractor Lagan Aviation and Infrastructure were brought in to deliver the project and chose Holcim to deliver the high quality materials required for the project.
Photos by Leo Hillier via LAA Media
What we achieved in numbers
1.3 miles
Length of runway resurfaced
35,000
Tonnes of Holcim materials delivered to project
5 hrs 44 mins
The nightly window for work to be carried out in
challenges
Because London Luton Airport operates around the clock, the construction team worked within a nightly window of only five hours and 44 minutes before the runway had to be returned to service for the first departures of the morning.
This limited access required meticulous planning, precise execution and consistent supply reliability.
Each night, approximately 15 centimetres of the existing surface was removed and replaced with a new high-performance asphalt layer engineered to withstand heavy aircraft loads and varying weather conditions throughout the year.
Solution
Holcim supplied a total of 35,000 tonnes of high quality materials to the project.
Approximately 28,000 tonnes in aggregates was supplied from its flagship Bardon Hill quarry in Leicestershire and a further 7,000 tonnes of sand from its Grovebury specialist sand quarry in Leighton Buzzard to accommodate this large-scale, time-sensitive project.
Lagan Aviation used the aggregates to produce the specially engineered Marshall asphalt on site which was then applied to the runway for creating the new surfacing.
Marshall asphalt is a high-specification, flexible, hot-mixed material specifically designed to withstand the extreme loads, forces, and high-speed impacts of aircraft landing and taking off.
The planings removed from the old runway surface were transported to Holcim’s Croft Recycling Centre, to be reprocessed and used in its circular asphalt products. As part of its commitment to circularity within the construction industry, Holcim recycles construction demolition materials (CDM) for reuse in new sustainable products, thereby maximising resources, minimising waste, and reducing carbon emissions.
The project ran between November 2025 and March 2026.
Photo by Leo Hillier via LAA Media
Photo by Leo Hillier via LAA Media
Photo by Leo Hillier via LAA Media
Photo by Leo Hillier via LAA Media
Photo by Leo Hillier via LAA Media
Gareth Pugh, Director of Aggregates for the Midlands Region at Holcim UK, said: “This project is a powerful example of how our sector-focused approach is delivering real results.
“Supplying the materials on a just-in-time basis, we’ve supported Lagan’s tight project schedules while minimising risk. Our approach has also halved CO₂ emissions through smarter haulage and kept old planings in use, contributing to a more circular construction process.
“Both our Bardon Hill and Leighton Buzzard sites have been outstanding throughout, and this success shows exactly what our teams and partners can achieve collaboratively.”
“Holcim had a clear understanding of our project goals, and worked with the Lagan team to meet our tight deadlines.
"Challenging weather brought change, which Holcim was able to react to in a positive way. The reuse of planings, and using the same vehicles for delivering aggregates, reduced the number of vehicles travelling in and out of the local community.
"The quality of the service, and the products used for the asphalt, remained high throughout the project, enabling us to finish on time.”
Brandi Davey, Project Manager
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