Roadgrip Airports returned to the Falkland Islands in January 2026 to carry out a major airfield preservation programme, building on the experience gained during our previous project at the site three years earlier.
The works were delivered alongside our ongoing contract to line the newly resurfaced Port Stanley–Mount Pleasant Airbase road, meaning two Roadgrip teams were operating concurrently in the region.
The objective of the latest project was to preserve and maintain the asphalt surfaces of this strategically important airfield and ensure continued safe operations for years to come.
The project closely mirrored the scope of the work undertaken in 2023, focusing on key maintenance tasks across the runway and taxiway network.
One of the first priorities was the removal of rubber build-up from the runway touchdown zones. As aircraft land and apply heavy braking, rubber deposits accumulate on the runway surface. Over time, this build-up can reduce surface friction, particularly in wet conditions. Removing it helps restore the runway’s braking performance and ensures it continues to meet operational safety standards.
Alongside this, our team applied approximately 220,000 square metres of Rhinophalt across two runways and the taxiway network. Rhinophalt is a specialist asphalt preservation treatment that extends the life of existing surfaces by sealing and protecting the asphalt from oxidation and environmental wear. In remote locations such as the Falkland Islands, where full resurfacing can be logistically complex, preservation treatments like this play a vital role in maintaining infrastructure.
Additional works included hydroblasting to remove redundant airfield markings and a complete refresh of the runway and taxiway markings, ensuring the airfield remains clear, compliant and easy to navigate for flight crews.
Projects in the Falkland Islands require careful planning and logistics. Transporting personnel, equipment and materials to such a remote location is a major undertaking, and the work itself must be delivered within tight operational windows.
We worked with the same site management team that delivered the works three years earlier who returned to oversee the programme. That continuity made a noticeable difference. Lessons learned during the previous project helped streamline operations, and the team was able to complete the works in almost half the time required in 2023.
Weather is always a major factor in the Falkland Islands. Conditions can change quickly, and high winds, rain and cold temperatures can affect application windows for surface treatments and markings.
This time the team benefited from slightly more favourable conditions, but the programme still required flexibility. The works were carried out through an intense schedule of day and night shifts, carefully coordinated to suit both the weather and ongoing airfield operations.
Maintaining that balance between productivity and operational continuity was key to delivering the project successfully.
Airfields in remote locations play an essential role in regional connectivity and logistics. Maintaining their surfaces to a high standard ensures safe operations and helps extend the life of critical infrastructure.
By combining rubber removal, surface preservation and refreshed markings, the latest project at Mount Pleasant Airbase has helped ensure the runway and taxiway network remain in excellent condition.
For Roadgrip, returning to the Falkland Islands was another opportunity to apply specialist expertise in a challenging environment, and to demonstrate how careful planning, experience and adaptability can make even the most remote projects run smoothly.
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