What happened
On May 24, 2016, at Warsaw Chopin Airport (EPWA), maintenance crews were performing surface inspections and repairs on Runway 11/29. During the process, the Airport Operations Duty Manager (DOPL) determined that the runway required immediate attention due to the condition of certain expansion joints.
At approximately 16:43 UTC, the Tower controller informed waiting aircraft that the runway would be unavailable for at least 40 minutes. Following discussions between the DOPL and the Tower, a decision was made to close Runway 11/29. To manage the incoming flow of aircraft, controllers initially planned to divert traffic to a less-equipped approach for Runway 15.
However, at 16:49 UTC, the runway was unexpectedly reopened for operations. This sudden reversal required the Approach (APP) controllers to re-route several aircraft back to the original ILS approach for Runway 11, leading to a rapid buildup of traffic in the sector.