General overhaul of the runway

The first section from 1948, however, showed considerable surface damage almost 15 years after construction: cracks and breakouts at the joints, in sections the upper concrete ceiling was also hollow. Since 1965, renovations had been carried out on the only fixed Riemer runway 07R / 25L during the nightly breaks of around 2 to 3 hours in order to be able to maintain operational safety.

However, the extent of the damage increased rapidly and a general overhaul increasingly seemed to be the solution to the problem. A group of experts was convened, the report showed: The renovation should be carried out completely for the entire S / L Bahn. The group of experts recommended carrying out the general overhaul during a 3-week total closure of Munich Airport, as a complete nightly refurbishment seemed unsafe in terms of safety and ensuring flight operations at Munich Airport.

Munich Airport completely closed for 3 weeks

Under the supervision of graduate engineer Rudi Pohlmann, around 400 workers worked on the 210,000 m² construction site - continuously in double shifts (12 hours each). Almost 900 tons of mix were produced and processed every hour in the 5 mixing plants. Ultimately, around 138,000 tons of building material were used for the new 2804-meter-long and 60-meter-wide runway at Riem Airport.

On September 1st, 1969 at around 0:05 am, the "Schwabing" landed one BAC One-Eleven (D-ANDY) from Bavaria Airline as the first machine after the general overhaul ”at Munich Airport.

Did you know?

In the east of the new Munich Trade Fair Center, there is still a remnant of the Riemer runway that was last renovated in 1969. This section was received for the BUGA 2005, or cut into a square (was previously a little longer). The remainder of the SLB is in the Riemer Park and can therefore only be reached on foot or by bike.