When wintry weather hits, our travel plans are most often the first thing to be disrupted.
But the team at Aberdeen International Airport do their best to keep things moving – starting as early as 3am to ensure the day gets off to a flying start.
A fleet of snow ploughs, de-icers and sweepers make sure the runway is always ready for take-off even when the snow hits.
Staff are trained and well-equipped for all seasons and weather conditions, working hard to make sure the fixed-wing and helicopter terminals are kept running and are safe for passengers.
The airport has a winter maintenance plan which is prepped and ready to be implemented from November to March.
When snow and ice appears overnight, staff start as early as 3am to begin clearing the runways.
Unable to use grit, which is corrosive and could damage aircrafts, teams use heavy-duty machinery to keep runways and taxi lanes clear.
Steel wire brushes, attached to the middle of the sweeper, rotate at high speeds clearing snow from the 1.2 mile long runway before being blown off the tarmac.
A snow cutter is then used to reduce the snowbanks created before shooting it over to the grassy area so de-icers can give the tarmac its finishing touches.
Reaching speeds of up to 24mph, it takes a convoy of winter operation equipment less than 30 minutes to completely clear the 150ft-wide runway.
‘Winter can be notoriously hard on airports’
The airport invested £1.3 million to upgrade and modernise the fleet of snow-clearing vehicles back in 2013 to make sure operations could continue even in dramatic conditions.
Mark Beveridge, operations director at Aberdeen International Airport, hailed the team for their efforts to keep the airport open and operational as heavy snow battered the north-east.
He said: “Winter can be notoriously hard on airports, but historically Aberdeen has fared well in the worst of conditions. In February 2018, the weather event dubbed the Beast from the East affected the whole of the UK with Aberdeen being no different.
“It led to more than 100 schools needing to be closed, 27,000 homes left without power and travel disruption across the road network.
“However, our team had the determination and expertise to ensure our airport remained operational throughout with only a limited number of cancellations during one of the worst winter events experienced by the UK.
“Staff did a tremendous job in keeping the airport open and providing passengers with timely updates throughout. Our snow ploughs and cutters proved an invaluable investment.”
Conversation