In summer, thunderstorms may delay or cancel your flight.
In winter, it’s snow. And ice.
And, as BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport reminds us, during a winter weather event a lot of players —airport personnel, the airlines, and the FAA — work together to keep everyone safe.
“The airlines are responsible for flight operations and de-icing their aircraft. The FAA controls air traffic and manages the movement of aircraft on the airfield,” BWI notes, but “the airport is responsible for snow removal and operations of the facility.”
To keep things moving, airports have specially trained teams and special snow removal vehicles.
And last week BWI’s team was out on the airfield showing off their skills and the snow removal equipment they – and other airports – use to try to keep winter weather from ruining your trip.
Each April, snow fighters from the aviation industry gather in known-for-its-snow Buffalo, New York for the International Aviation Snow Symposium (SnoPo) to get the latest on equipment and techniques for coping with snow, slush and ice at airports.
Here’s the video that kicked off last year’s event.
