You are here: Home » Archives for Winter operations
Winter operations - Articles and news items
Latest issue / 8 December 2011 /
It is inevitable that adverse weather conditions at airports will lead to operational restrictions on airfields and will often lead to disruption to aircraft operations. This was witnessed during December 2011 when the world looked on as UK aviation was severely affected by freezing conditions and heavy snowfall. However, at Birmingham Airport this operational impact was not as bad as some other major UK airports. This was mainly due to our investment in new equipment and our ongoing commitment to plan and exercise for adverse weather events. Nevertheless, the bad weather did force us to close the runway on four occasions, totalling slightly less than 16 hours with less than eight hours occurring during our core operational hours (06:00 and 22:00).
Winters in the UK are variable so all airports can do is prepare, train and test. Until snow falls it is difficult to know what the full extent of the impact will be. Conditions can vary so any disruption will depend on the amount of snow, duration of snowfall and the temperature and conditions on the ground before it starts to fall. Whilst we make every reasonable effort to clear snow and ice from airside areas, it is a lengthy process, especially when there is a persistent snowfall – as soon as you have completed a sweep of the runway it is covered again and the process has to be repeated. Unlike landside areas, rock salt cannot be used on the runway or taxiways to treat areas in advance of forecast ice or snowfall, and if there is just four inches of snowfall at Birmingham Airport, some 20,000 tonnes of snow will need to be cleared. (more…)
Issue 5 2011 / 5 October 2011 /
In over 60 years of operation, Zurich Airport has never had to be closed down because of snow – a fact the airport is immensely proud of. Last year Several European airports fought harsh winter weather conditions and some hubs – such as Frankfurt and London Heathrow – had to temporarily halt operations or close down completely.
As a consequence, aircrafts had to divert to Zurich Airport as their alternate airport, demanding high flexibility from all airport partners involved. While ground staff were facing stressful and hectic times, airplane spotters cheered! Numerous aircraft diversions brought unique photo opportunities and rare guests to Zurich, such as an additional Airbus A380 from Singapore Airlines that had to divert to Zurich from London Heathrow.
What distinguishes Zurich Airport from other European airports? Why is snow not a reason for the declaration of a state of emergency? The answer is a combination of several factors: An experienced crew, excellent equipment, a reliable alarm and first response system, regular training and tremendous commitment. (more…)
Issue 4 2011 / 8 August 2011 /
It was one particular snowy day at the airport last year when I signed off the use of a large amount of anti-skid material, perhaps more than I was used to seeing recorded in our operation logs. However, the request was essential given the winter conditions that we had to operate in. The minimum temperatures were exceptionally low at the airport during the last winter season. Compressed snow and icy banks built up on the airside aprons meaning that it was essential for the airport to take action.
The previous two winters were particularly challenging for the airport. The last six years preceding this threw up very little in the way of snow clearing difficulties, in fact, to quote one of my Duty Airside Managers; “One of the worst winters took place on a very nice Saturday afternoon!” (more…)
Issue 3 2011 / 10 June 2011 /
Despite a total of 1.58 metres of snow this winter, Oslo Airport (OSL) achieved a punctuality rate of 80%. Efficient and productive snow clearing techniques are essential for the smooth operation of Norway’s main airport.
Because of its continental climate, Oslo Gardermoen receives more than its fair share of snow, freezing fog and drizzling rain. But despite these meteorological challenges, the airport has always had good punctuality figures – primarily thanks to the excellent routines for dealing with the winter weather. Since it opened, the airport has only been closed twice because of snow – on 1 February 2008 and 7 February 2009. And on both occasions, the closure only lasted a few hours. (more…)
Issue 2 2011 / 11 April 2011 /
Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport’s winter operations have kept the airport open regardless of weather conditions and become the envy of snowbound airports around the world.
The winter of 2010-2011 will go down as one of the toughest ever for airports in Europe and North America. Heavy snow, ice storms and freezing temperatures wreaked havoc on flight operations on both sides of the Atlantic. In some cases, they forced the complete shutdown of major airport hubs. (more…)
Airport news / 24 March 2011 /
BAA today announces that it is developing a £50 million Heathrow resilience investment plan, which it will recommend to airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority in April.
(more…)
Issue 1 2011 / 26 January 2011 /
While many airports across Europe are suffering delays and disruption as winter sets in, Helsinki is taking the conditions in its stride – as it does from year-to-year. The success of its strategy as a fast, efficient hub for flights between Europe and Asia depends on it.
It’s the week before Christmas at Helsinki International Airport. A carpet of snow, up to half a metre deep, covers the surrounding forests and fields and the digital thermometers of which Finns are so fond read -10°C. The snow and cold have come early this year. (more…)
Issue 1 2011 / 26 January 2011 /
The winter weather challenges of 2010, at the beginning and towards the end of the year, further exasperated an already turbulent year in European aviation. At Frankfurt Airport, aircraft movements grew by only 0.3 percent in 2010 to 464,432 takeoffs and landings.
This modest increase can be attributed to the numerous air traffic disruptions, including weather disturbances in Germany and the rest of Europe. Thus, FRA registered a total of 22,000 flight cancellations throughout 2010 – 15,000 more than the annual average during the past decade – which corresponds to an estimated loss of 1.4 million passengers. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) at FRA amounted to 27,963,744 metric tons from January to December 2010, a 2.9 percent rise year-on-year. (more…)
Issue 2 2010 / 5 April 2010 /
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 /
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 /
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 /
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 /
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 /
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 /
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…)
Login to access exclusive content