Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA) is closed for 12 hours on Tuesday between 2.15am to 2.15pm due to maintenance work on the runway.

A dedicated team has been assigned by the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), the owner-operator of ADIA, to re-asphalt a minor crack found on the side of the runway.

The ADAC team hopes the procedure will take less than 12 hours, in spite of the hot weather conditions, which tend to slow down the drying up process of the new asphalt, to be ready for operational use.

"The maintenance process is a routine repair. We hope there will be less time anticipated during the maintenance procedure and that the airport closure time will be minimised in order to lessen any inconvenience caused to passengers," said Andrew Chupeau, Senior Media Officer, ADAC.

Abu Dhabi's airline, Etihad Airways, has already contacted 80 per cent of their passengers due to fly during the closure.

The delay has affected 7,500 Etihad passengers and over 3,500 have visited the Etihad website to check the delay in their flights.


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