CHICAGO — At the far end of Runway 22L at Chicago Midway International Airport, the bed of crushable blocks built to stop a runaway jet now needs fixing itself. The Midway EMAS jet blast repairs have kept the runway closed for weeks, and crews are working toward a mid-November reopening.
The bed is an Engineered Materials Arresting System, or EMAS. It sits past the end of the pavement and gives an overrunning aircraft a soft, crushable surface to sink into and stop. It only works if it stays intact. Here, the threat came from the aircraft it protects.
The Chicago Department of Aviation said the EMAS at the departure end of 22L “sustained damage from recent aircraft activity, including jet blast, necessitating the repairs.” That damage has taken one of Midway’s main runways out of use.
Runway 22L stays closed as Nov. 13 approaches
The department announced the temporary closure on Oct. 20 and set a mid-November target for the work. Commissioner Michael McMurray framed the job simply: “Safety is the top priority at Chicago’s airports, and we are working to complete these repairs safely and promptly.”
AIN reported on Oct. 28 that the runway, designated 4R/22L, runs 6,445 feet. The outlet said the work would take about three weeks, with reopening anticipated on Nov. 13.
Notices to air missions filed with the FAA match that date. NOTAM 10/213 closes the runway to takeoffs until 1700Z on Nov. 13, which is 11 a.m. in Chicago. NOTAM 10/214 closes it to landings until the same time. A third notice, 10/207, lists the EMAS itself as out of service until 2300Z that day.
Why Midway EMAS jet blast damage is a FOD story
Jet blast is the hot, fast exhaust behind an engine at power. It can push ground equipment, scour pavement and fling loose material across an airfield. At Midway, it wore down a bed designed to absorb the worst day an airport can have: a jet that cannot stop on the runway.
That makes this as much an infrastructure problem as a debris one. A damaged arresting bed cannot be trusted to do its job, so the runway beside it goes quiet. A fourth notice, 10/205, warns of an irregular EMAS surface into December, a sign the repairs will leave their mark beyond the closure itself.
The lesson for airfield managers is plain. Every surface near a runway end feels the blast, including the safety systems. Earlier coverage of the original Runway 22L EMAS closure tracked how the work began.
What travelers and operators are watching
Midway normally runs on a four-runway network. With 4R/22L closed, wind and schedules decide which of the remaining runways carry the traffic each day.
For airlines and pilots, the next marker is Nov. 13, when the takeoff and landing closures are set to lift. The notices will show whether that holds. Even then, the irregular-surface warning will stay on the books into December.
For everyone else, the story is a reminder that runway safety is not only about what lands on the pavement. Sometimes it is about what the engines leave behind.
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