Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the timetable is for the commencement and conclusion of maintenance to the Wideawake Airfield on Ascension Island; and what the reasons are for that repair not having begun.

​The two mile runway at Wideawake Airfield requires a full-depth resurfacing. The runway is owned and operated by the US Air Force under the Bahamas Agreement. Therefore, they are responsible for the design, management and delivery of the resurfacing project. The design phase is already underway but Ascension's isolated location and the complexity of these repairs mean works are not expected to be completed until 2020.