Winter operations - Articles and news items
Issue 2 2010 / 5 April 2010 / Vienna International Airport
2.3 million m2 must be kept free of snow and ice
Vienna International Airport is well equipped for the coming winter. In addition to roughly 500 employees who are prepared for any emergency, this ready-to-act status is supported by continuous contact with the weather service, runway and taxiway sensors and high-tech equipment.
All these preparations are important because a snowstorm with only five centimetres of accumulation means roughly 115,000 m3 of snow that must be cleared. About 64,000 m3 of snow must be taken off the runway system to prevent snowdrifts from building, and a further 51,000 m3 must be removed from the aprons. The docking positions are kept clear by loading the snow onto lorries with special equipment, and then transporting it to one of three large holding areas. In order to guarantee smooth operations, the aprons, taxiways and both runways – with a combined area of 2.3 million m2 – must be kept free of snow and ice. That compares with the space on roughly 320 football fields. Five centimetres of snowfall at the airport mean nearly 700 lorry runs for snow removal. This is the responsibility of the winter services and aircraft de-icing workforce, who operate under the motto: winter services make flight operations possible in spite of the weather.
(more…)
Issue 1 2010, Past issues / 22 February 2010 / Jan Kadlec, Head of Airfield Operations, Prague Airport, Czech Republic
Prague/Ruzyne Airport is the largest international airport in Central Europe and is the gateway to the continent. That means operations must be ensured even under adverse weather conditions. The winter time period officially starts on November 1 and ends March 31, but the dates are always adapted to climatic conditions, so the start may come two weeks earlier or the end two weeks later, depending.
When snow falls, maintenance workers at the airport have their hands full. They have a sixty-minute designated time period within which to clear the runways for takeoff and landing, main taxi roads and aicraft parking stands. Last winter, in January (2009), they got the job done in a record 20 minutes (a cleaning of the general runway). A force of 17 sweepers/snowblowers cleared an area of almost 200,000 m² at Prague Airport in a single pass, for the first time in history.
Cutting-edge technology is used at the airport to get rid of snow and frost and get operations going again more quickly. Equipment on the job includes one of the largest snowploughs currently manufactured, capable of removing up to 12,000 tonnes of snow per hour, along with specialised wide-swath sweepers/snowblowers to clear runways (7.5m plough, 5.4m broom). In addition, there are two specialised gritters employing wet gritting, a technology which markedly increases the quality of chemical maintenance. The parking lot at Prague Airport has a total of 63 specialised machines for clearing snow and maintaining the surface. (more…)
Issue 2 2009, Past issues / 31 March 2009 / Alexander Hoffmann, Vice President, Airport Operations, Munich International Airport
Air traffic never stops – even under icy conditions and the heaviest snowfalls, operations continue despite inclement weather conditions. At Munich Airport, one rule never changes: safety comes first. Making sure that there is no danger to aircraft taxiing, taking off and landing at Munich Airport are the winter services of FMG, the airport’s operating company, and EFM, a special company responsible for de-icing and towing operations.
To ensure that flight operations continue on the airport aprons, taxiways and runways, Munich Airport deploys up to 150 employees of FMG’s winter services, with their special vehicles, on each shift. The taxiways and the two runways, each four kilometres long and 50 metres wide, are continually cleared of ice and snow by a total of 24 airblast sweepers, two spreaders, two so-called multi-deicers and six snow ploughs. Another 75 snow clearing vehicles are assigned to the park positions. In total, the winter services crews are responsible for an area of four million square metres. (more…)
Issue 1 2009, Past issues / 7 February 2009 / John S. Kinney, Deputy Manager of Aviation/Operations and Public Safety, Denver International Airport
It’s a well-kept secret that most locals want to keep from outsiders: although located close to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and a mile above sea level, the city of Denver doesn’t get as much snow as many non-residents assume. With 300-plus days of sunshine annually, what snow does fall usually doesn’t stay on the ground for long. But when big snowstorms do hit, they hit hard. That was the case of the blizzard season in 2006 that closed Denver International Airport (DEN) for two days just before Christmas.
We are using lessons learned in 2006 to completely revamp the airport’s snow-removal plan for the start of the 2008/09 season. The revisions include an overhauled procedural plan, a fleet of 40 new snow-removal vehicles at a cost of $29 million, and plans to add more equipment in the near future. (more…)
Issue 2 2008, Past issues / 28 March 2008 / Erik Gill, Director of Airport Services, Oslo Airport
Based on many years of experience, winter at Oslo Airport is defined as the period between 15 October and 15 April. This is when we enter a period which will require the planning to have been completed and the manpower and equipment to be in place. We have to ensure that we are ready to resolve the challenges a Norwegian winter can bring.
Oslo Airport Gardermoen has been in operation as Norway’s main airport since the autumn of 1998. On 8 October of that year, air traffic was switched there from Oslo Airport Fornebu, which until then had been Norway’s main airport. Geographically the main airport was moved from an area beside the sea, with a coastal climate, to a typically inland climate and an area which has always been noted for its heavy snowfall.
From the end of the war in 1945 until 1998, Gardermoen had been a combined civil and military airport and had handled southern Norway’s charter traffic, in addition to the military traffic. Despite the sound winter experience at both Gardermoen and Fornebu and the detailed planning in advance of the opening, the first winter was awaited with some suspense. The concept of two runways and an extensive network of taxiways presented new challenges. After the first winter it was necessary to make some fairly major changes to procedures, manning and the composition of machinery. (more…)
Issue 4 2007, Past issues / 31 July 2007 / Turner W. West Co-Manager, Denver International Airport
On December 20, 2006, Denver International Airport faced a snowstorm that challenged every single aspect of the operation. The storm, now commonly referred to as the December Blizzard of ‘06, brought over 20 inches of snow, with wind gusts above 40 mph and white-out conditions to the Denver area.
These conditions eventually caused DEN to close for 45 hours during the worst possible time of year, the pre-Christmas rush. The lengthy airport closure cost the hub carriers at Denver millions of dollars, stranded nearly 5,000 passengers at the airport – ruining holiday plans for many – and sent ripple effects through the airspace system that took several days to level out. Afterwards, DEN senior management, including the newly hired directors of Airport Operations and Airport Maintenance, John Kinney and Ruth Rodriguez, closely examined every aspect of the events before, during and after the storm to find areas that could be improved upon, as well as to identify future challenges. In the end, the December Blizzard has proven to be a catalyst for DEN to reinvent its winter operations program. (more…)
Issue 4 2006, Past issues / 1 December 2006 / Tor Børre Langedahl, Executive Director, Avinor AS, Olav Aarrestad, Partner, Terramar AS and Hans Jørgen Bugge, Senior Advisor, Terramar AS
Better than yesterday – but not as good as tomorrow. The quest for excellence characterises Avinor’s everyday activities and long-term plans in the operation of 46 airports throughout Norway’s demanding topography and harsh winter conditions. (more…)
Issue 3 2006, Past issues / 11 September 2006 / Daniel Hartman, Airfield Manager, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
How does an airport that experiences Arctic type weather consistently remain open? Daniel Hartman discusses the demands of an Alaskan winter, when ambient temperatures can fall as low as -38 degrees, with wind chills down to -60, equipment oil and hydraulic fluids are like thick syrup and starter heads blow apart when started.
The location of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (IATA: ANC) less than 9 ½ hours by air from 90 per cent of the industrialised world, has enabled it to become the preeminent international cargo crossroad for transpacific freighter activity. It also demands faultless winter operations; average seasonal snowfall is 69 inches, with records as much as 132.8 inches. 24 hour snow accumulation has, in the past, reached 27.6 inches, other airports with more equipment and personnel have closed after receiving as little as two inches. (more…)
Issue 4 2005, Past issues / 25 November 2005 / Thomas Torsten-Meyer and Henning Pfisterer, Vice President Airport Operations and Duty Officer, Manager of Airport Safety, Munich Airport
Controlling ice and snow in major hub operations is an increasingly challenging task. In this article, Munich Airport reveals what it takes to remain open through the winter months.
A single runway closure of 30 minutes can easily build up to average delays of 2-3 hours with a traffic density on the scale of 70-90 movements per hour. Subsequently, if ATC doesn´t imposing pre-tactical flow control measures, the holding stock capacity of major airports can easily be exceeded when snow clearance requires a sudden runway closure during peak hours.
After completion of the runway clearance, delays can be further exacerbated by bottlenecks in remote aircraft de-icing areas. Crew duty hour limitations on long-haul services might also result in cancellations, even if the initial weather-induced delay was only minor.
Another consideration is that an initial departure delay is exacerbated if the aircraft cannot keep its slot. This situation may even worsen if the destination airport is also subject to weather-related closures and delays. Night flight restrictions, which are a very present concern here in Germany, also limit the capability to absorb delays, causing backlogs in scheduling the following day. (more…)
Issue 3 2005, Past issues / 16 September 2005 / Eric Tolton, Director of Operations, Greater Toronto Airports Authority
Dealing with the cold and snow has recently received an upheaval at Toronto Pearson and in this article Eric Tolton reveals some of the new methods.
Unimpeded access to and from Toronto Pearson International Airport is a requirement for millions of people each year. Snow clearance, snow removal and ice control operations are some of the most critical and costly components of operating the airport. The areas requiring snow clearance and removal are in excess of 2,500,000 square metres – the equivalent of four hundred kilometres of two-lane highway.
Since the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) assumed responsibility for the management, operation and maintenance of Toronto Pearson from the federal government in 1996, the airport has undergone a substantial physical transformation. A comprehensive redevelopment program was initiated by the GTAA to aid the fulfilment of its mandate and to allow Toronto Pearson to keep pace with the rapidly growing travel needs of southern Ontario. The Airport Development Program (ADP) is a 10-year, $4.4 billion plan that includes four major aspects: Terminal Development, Airside Development, Infield Development and Utilities and Airport Support. (more…)
mailing list