By Jamie Freed

July 22 (Reuters) - The temporary disruption at London's Luton Airport on Monday when soaring temperatures caused a small section of the asphalt to lift is an example of the challenges airports face in making their infrastructure resilient to climate change, experts say.

Below is an explanation of how global airports are coping with extreme heat and what may be needed to prevent future interruption if there is another heatwave.

WHAT HAPPENED AT LUTON AND WHY?

The Luton runway was closed for nearly two hours on Monday, prompting airlines to delay or divert flights as temperatures rose above 37C (98.6 Fahrenheit), adding to industry headaches in what has been a chaotic summer travel season in Europe.

A long-standing patch repair to a small section of the runway - the equivalent of 0.2% of the entire surface area - became so hot that it de-bonded and began to lift, a spokesperson for the airport said on Friday, adding it was repaired within two hours.

It is built to the same specification as others in Britain, meeting industry safety standards and regulations, the spokesperson said.

"We continue to evaluate all options regarding the ongoing maintenance and long-term resilience of all of our infrastructure."

The spokesperson did not comment on questions about the timing of the runway's resurfacing, the type of asphalt used or any possible changes to the material.

Runways are typically resurfaced every 10 to 15 years.

Experts say the airport, one of Britain's busiest and used by budget airlines including Ryanair and EasyJet , may be more vulnerable to heat because it is at a higher elevation than the others surrounding the capital: Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

Luton's climate change adaptation report released in November 2021 warned one of the key risks was high temperatures causing infrastructure damage or impacting operations.

The airport said in the medium term it would need to ensure all airfield resurfacing projects considered the impact of increasing temperatures.

HOW DO OTHER AIRPORTS COPE WITH EXTREME HEAT?

The surface materials used depend on the climate and local conditions as well as other factors such as cost.

In the Middle East, airports are more likely to use more expensive concrete runways because they are good at withstanding extreme heat, Greg White, director of the Airport Pavement Research Program at Australia's University of the Sunshine Coast, said this week.

In Britain and Australia, cheaper asphalt runways are more common, he said, though they use different stiffness levels depending on the local climate.