Busiest runway at Logan closed for major safety upgrade

EAST BOSTON, Mass. —

As we head into the holiday weekend, travelers may experience flight delays at Boston’s Logan International Airport that aren't related to weather: A construction project that may have travelers reconsidering what time of day they plan to fly.

More than 1,000 flights arrive and depart from Logan each day, but right now the busiest runway is closed.

“Typically, during peak time in the afternoon we'll average 50 to 55 flights per hour,” said Bob Lynch, deputy director of operations at MassPort. “The loss of this runway brings it down to like 40.”

Runway 27 is undergoing a major safety upgrade to install an engineered materials arresting system, otherwise known as an EMAS.

“It stops aircraft that overrun or undershoot the runway,” Deputy Director of Airfield Projects