Tocumen Airport began urgent repairs to taxiways in T2
Jose Ruiz Blanco, General Manager of Tocumen International Airport (AITSA), recently revealed serious failures in the taxiways on the apron, which are used for the movement and entry of aircraft to the boarding bridges of Terminal 2 (T2). This damage has affected the use of 11 of the 20 boarding gates, i.e., 50% of the terminal’s operations have been compromised. This situation, inherited from the last administration, has also generated a domino effect that is affecting the Duty Free stores located in front of these gates.
Terminal 2, an emblematic work that includes a platform, taxiways and a connector building, was built by the Brazilian company Norberto Odebrecht (today CNO S.A.). Its award in 2012 for an initial value of US$679 million ended up exceeding US$900 million in investment and recent deformations in the taxiways have compromised and impacted routine operations in this sector.
One of the most critical points is the apron taxiway called “Sierra 8” (S-8), located in the southern part of the terminal, which has serious damage to its surface course. Claudio Dutary, Operations Manager of Tocumen Airport, indicated that four of the boarding bridges in this area, corresponding to gates 222, 223, 224 and 225, are currently disabled due to the impossibility for aircraft to maneuver safely to and from these gates. The situation has forced the airport to redistribute operations to Terminal 1 and the rest of the functional positions in Terminal 2.
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“It is essential to highlight that we are approaching the high passenger traffic season, driven by both national holidays and year-end celebrations. This period demands that rehabilitation work on taxiways be carried out as urgently as possible, with the objective of continuing operations under adequate safety conditions on all bridges. With more than 65% of foreign visitors entering the country through Tocumen International Airport, we are committed to ensuring a safe, fast and efficient experience in all operational areas of the airport,” said Dutary.
Architect Ramón Zambrano, vice-president of Engineering and Projects of Tocumen, S.A., explained that the Technological University of Panama (UTP) is in the final phase for the presentation of the technical study on the state of the structure of the asphalt pavements of the taxiways in the platform of T2, Sierra 8 (S-8) in order to identify the causes of the findings. Preliminary findings suggest that it could be a structural problem that, if confirmed, would force the airport to demolish the flexible pavement structure (asphalt) and consider the possibility of its reconstruction in concrete.
Zambrano also explained that, for the time being, the company Pavimentos Especializados is in charge of the initial repairs in a first phase, which will cover 3,055 square meters of flexible pavement in Sierra 8, at an estimated cost of approximately US$288,000.00. A modified asphalt mix more compatible with the structure will be used for this intervention, and the work is expected to be carried out over a period of 15 days, during day and night hours.
“This is a repair of the existing potholes, as a palliative measure until the definitive solution is defined, based on the results of the analysis obtained with the UTP report,” said Zambrano.
In a second phase, other positions such as 209, 211, 216 and 217 will be repaired, which also present significant damages to the access roads to these boarding bridges. In the development of this phase, the repair works will be carried out at night, which minimizes the risks and effects on the regular operation of the airport, according to Zambrano.
He also pointed out that access to three of the 11 gates that showed significant deterioration in the airport infrastructure has already been enabled.
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