Auckland Airport is conducting an immediate formal review into two recent runway closures as a pilots' association warns about the "deteriorating" condition of the runway.
The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations said yesterday in a statement that it has concerns about there only being one runway, about foreign objects found on the runway, and about the increasing frequency of runway closures.
"The maintenance required to keep the runway surface in a usable condition has increased significantly, however, this has not kept up with the rate at which the runway is deteriorating," the Pilots' Association said.
"As a result, there have been over 15 short notice unplanned runway closures.
"With the increasing occurrences of damage to the runway, there has been an increased risk of foreign object debris damage - some pieces of broken concrete have been reported up to 30cm by 30cm and 12cm thick."
Yesterday's statement coincided with the second runway closure at Auckland Airport within two weeks, when the runway closed for about 40 minutes causing the diversion of nine aircraft, including a wide body international arrival.
1 NEWS understands about 2000 passengers were disrupted and that the runway closure cost airlines thousands of dollars.
On January 24, Airways, which manages New Zealand's air traffic, said debris was found on the runway but couldn't elaborate on what the debris was or how it got there.
In a response today, Auckland Airport said that "the last thing we want is for people's travel plans to be disrupted, but safety is our top priority and we have no tolerance for debris or defects which may compromise this".
Auckland Airport officials also announced a review into both closures in the statement, "to understand what occurred, and the speed of our response to reopen the runway".
"There is a current programme of planned maintenance for the runway, which includes an annual slab replacement programme - our review will also assess whether or not this programme of work should be adjusted."
The review is expected to take place over the next three weeks.
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