BBC News
Tom Edwards
13 October 2026
We are waiting for the last plane to leave Heathrow.
It is 10:45pm and we are in a convoy of road maintenance vehicles on the edge of the Northern Runway.
We see the plane take off. The call comes through on the radio and 130 vehicles head to the tarmac.
There are 230 specialist workers who soon jump out of the vehicles, set up cones and measure lines. Then, within 10 minutes, the road millers start tearing up the surface.
The clock is ticking and the pressure is on...
Heathrow's Northern Runway has tarmac replaced in overnight works - BBC News - 13 October 2026
