All Points North | Heathrow’s army of snow ploughs stretch their wings as snow bites
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BAA Heathrow: Heathrow's army of snow ploughs stretch their wings as snow bites
Heathrow’s army of snow ploughs stretch their wings as snow bites29 November 2010
The cold snap may have only just bitten but Heathrow’s snow team has been working for months to ensure the UK’s hub airport will once again be prepared for the onset of winter.
With an extra half a million pounds invested in equipment this year, Heathrow’s airside department run constant checks of runway and taxiway areas, applying de-icing and of course clearing any snow and debris away.
Heathrow’s specialist teams – which includes 50 highly trained staff and more than 60 hi-tech vehicles – have been preparing since the end of last winter to do everything they can to minimise delays in the face of wintry conditions.
The airport employs a fleet of snow ploughs and de-icing vehicles to clear and prepare runways and taxiways at the airport’s specialist snow base which sits in between the two runways. Heathrow’s airside operations teams have spent the summer refreshing their training with plans being discussed with airlines, baggage handlers and air traffic control to ensure a coordinated response.
While London may have run out of grit last winter, Heathrow is determined that it doesn’t run out of the highly concentrated de-icing fluid it uses on the runways (grit is not used as this could get into engines). That’s why the airport now has an innovative computer system that remotely measures how much de-icer is left – to ensure restocking can take place when required. To minimise the impact on the surrounding greenery, the chemical bi-product – glycol – is also recovered by a host of new recovery vehicles, ensuring more waste de- icing liquid can be removed effectively from the airport.
To ensure it has the most up-to-date weather predictions, Heathrow uses the Met Office’s OpenRunway system which offers 24 hour access to measurements including air and runway temperatures, wind and visibility, all vital in determining the right time to apply anti or de-icer.
Key Heathrow snow facts:
Heathrow was the only major airport in the UK to not close last winter
There are over 60 vehicles and 50 staff keeping the runways clear
An extra £500,000 has been invested this year in snow-fighting technology
Heathrow has storage for 500,000 litres of de-icing fluid
Each de-icing vehicle can hold a massive 60,000 litres and it takes around 25 mins to de-ice each runway
Liquid de-icer used on the runway and taxiways is effective for longer and ensures that grit doesn’t cause damage to engines.
Colin Wood, Director of Airside, said: “As the world’s busiest international airport it’s absolutely vital we are well prepared and our team do an excellent job often in quite severe conditions. While we stayed open last winter, we won’t rest on our laurels and promise that we’ll be ready, waiting and doing everything we can to make every journey better for our passengers.”