Skip to main content

Snow removal operations at O’Hare International Airport – and how the airport efficiently met the challenge of the extreme winter of 2013-14

The Infrastructure Show
The Infrastructure Show - Podcasts
Snow removal operations at O’Hare International Airport – and how the airport efficiently met the challenge of the extreme winter of 2013-14
Loading
/

In the Midwestern United States, the winter of 2013-2014 was one of the most severe in recorded weather history. In Chicago, every type of transportation was affected by waves of Arctic cold and 80 inches of snowfall. At O’Hare International Airport, in suburban Chicago, the challenge of removing snow and ice from 14 miles of runways, 45 miles of taxiways, and 20 million square feet of gate areas during this period of extreme weather was immense – this for the second busiest airport in the U.S., handling more than 194,000 flight operations for the first 3 months of 2014. Yet O’Hare did such a good job that it won a top aviation industry award for excellence in snow and ice control – the coveted Balchen/Post Award issued annually by the Northeast Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives – O’Hare was this year’s winner in the large commercial airports category. Professor Schofer discusses the snow removal challenges at O’Hare Airport and how they are met with George Lyman, Managing Deputy Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation, Airport Airfield Operations and Vehicle Services Sections