Last winter’s unusually heavy snowfall caused major disruptions at most U.K. airports. Many scheduled airlines were obliged to cancel services, while charter airlines continued to fly, albeit with substantial delays. The financial implications for the airlines and airport operators are still difficult to gauge. However, with the benefit of hindsight, could the current U.K. practices regarding operations with contaminated runways be improved?
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) currently complies with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommendations that operations on contaminated runways should be the exception and not the norm. U.K. airports have a “back to black” policy, which means that contaminated runways must be cleared and then treated with deicing/anti-icing fluid to prevent further contamination. However, this may not always be practical; tactical decisions on runway closure are not taken lightly and are difficult to predict. Traditionally, our benig…
