And here's the spin:
A heavy snowfall early in the south of the Island on Sunday afternoon led to the closure of the runway at Ronaldsway. At least 3 inches of snow fell over a 2 hour period, something not seen at the Airport in well over 10 years. Initially the Airport was closed from around two thirty but a further decision at 5 o’clock was made to remain closed for the remainder of the day.
Airport staff worked late into the evening and were back at three o’clock this morning treating the runway and taxiway surfaces, however a decision was taken at 0530 this morning to keep the Airport closed until midday.
Airport Director Ann Reynolds explained, “The runway and taxiway surfaces were inspected at daylight this morning and the treated areas have far less snow contamination than the surrounding areas. Some areas are already becoming slush and a further inspection will be made at 11 o’clock. We are hopeful, provided there are no further snowfalls that we should be able to open at midday.” She went on to explain “whilst we have snow ploughs and will use them on some of the taxiway surfaces, we do not generally use them on the runway. Ploughing will cause compaction of the snow, forming ice, which makes the runway surface unlevel. Equally, we cannot push the snow to just off the sides of the runway, as this will form banks of ice – and that’s not acceptable for aircraft operations. We have to keep the runway edges level and clear with no obstacles”.
Around 80 passengers actually spent the night at in the Ronaldsway Terminal Building, including a wedding party and the bride and groom shared their honeymoon night sleeping not only with family and friends but strangers too. Airport staff remained at work to look after the passengers.
Ann went on to say “I’d like to thank the Airport staff who have worked hard throughout this challenging time. I’d also like to thank the passengers for their patience and understanding at this time, and must apologise that whilst the flights show delayed or cancelled on the website this morning, we omitted to put an airport statement onto the website. I understand that whilst messages on the radio regarding the closure were put out from six o’clock this morning, some passengers travelled to the Airport to find the Airport closed”.
So there's no snow blower available. And because yesterday was a Sunday there was no one available to write the back patting press release. But there were Airport staff battling against the elements with what appears to be woefully inadequate resources.
Whilst no one would expect the magnificent line up of snow clearing equipment that greets arrivals at Gatwick, just one piece of suitable equipment would be nice.