Canberra Airport to expand taxiway

Construction was set to begin in the next few weeks, taking 12 to 18 months and would have "no impact whatsoever" on customers according to the airport's aviation head.

Currently, neither of the airport's taxiways ran the entire length of the runway, forcing planes to cross over the landing strip midway.

This saw taxiing planes waiting for others to land before it was safe to cross.

The construction would extend the taxiway on the terminal side of the airport all the to the end of the main landing strip, allowing planes to taxi all the way back to or from the terminal.

Head of aviation Michael Thomson said planes were getting bigger and passengers more time poor.

"We believe every minute matters for passengers and this taxiway will save passengers time while creating more valuable national infrastructure for our capital city," Mr Thomson said.

The future site of an extended taxiway at Canberra Airport.

He said planes could wait up to four to five minutes to cross the main landing strip.

"It really makes more difference for customer experience," he said.

"This is an opportunity to speed up their flying or their disembarking at the terminal."

The taxiway on the far side, taxiway A, was built in the 1940s shortly after World War II according to the airport.

A statement from the airport said it been resurfaced and refurbished multiple times since then.

"It's a facility that's been in place for close to 70 years," Mr Thomson said.

Mr Thomson also said the improved taxiway would improve safety and allow more freight and wide-bodied planes to land.

These types of planes caused considerable wear on the old taxiway, requiring regular maintenance, according to Mr Thomson.

Work has already begun to find any underground infrastructure along the site of the new taxiway which would be impacted by construction.

Construction would start in "the next few weeks" and is set to take 12 to 18 months, with more than 80 workers.

The work was set to take place during the day and occasionally at night after the last planes had landed but the airport said its runway would stay open 24/7.

"We should see no impacts whatsoever in terms of access to the airfield," Mr Thomson.

He said the airport aimed to using as much local support and resources as possible.