Reno-Tahoe Airport Closes New Runway, Cites Surface Scaling As Reason

NEVADA – The $16 million runway at Reno-Tahoe International Airport has been closed less than a year after opening due to pavement failure, according to airport authorities.

Surface scaling, defined as “a portion of the surface is flaking off,” is the official reason for the recent closure of the left parallel runway.

Cris Jensen, the head of operations and public safety at the airport, said, “There (are) sections where the surface is flaking away or pieces of the runway are being ejected,”

In order to prevent any debris from being absorbed by the planes’ engines, we need a very smooth landing surface, and we’re worried about where the flakes go when they fall off.
In October of 2021, airport authorities officially inaugurated the repaved runway. In October of 2022, they plan to shut it down and move all traffic to a parallel runway to the east.

Airport officials have reported that the surface of the new runway at Reno-Tahoe International Airport is peeling.

Jensen stated that they are collaborating with the contractor Granite Construction and consultants to identify the issue and develop a plan to fix it.

He assured them there wouldn’t be any more costs to the airport because the runway was still under warranty. Flight crews will keep using the other north-south runway for landings in the meanwhile.

“It’s unfortunate that we’re having to deal with it but it’s not unheard of and like I said, when it’s all over with we’ll have exactly what we want, which is a safe runway which is going to last us for the expected 20 years,” Jensen added.

The left runway at Reno–Tahoe International Airport is now closed, as indicated by an X.

Jensen stated repairs will start after the root problem was identified. By July 1st, they plan to have the runway surface repaired and back in use. In Jensen’s opinion, passengers won’t feel a thing.

The airport’s longest runway is the one to the left, which measures in at 11,000 feet. Until the other runway is repaired, pilots must use the 9,000-foot runway to the right.

Density altitude becomes an issue where long-haul flights might be impacted slightly if repairs aren’t finished by summer’s end, but “In the heat of summer, if we get to that point and we haven’t completed the repairs, density altitude becomes an issue where our long-haul flights might be impacted a little bit but we’re working through that with our airline partners and we’re not there yet,” he said.

Credits: Fox Reno