SOS: winter weather!

Just like cars and roads, planes and runways can also be impacted by wintry conditions. When this happens our Winter Operations or Winter Ops come into force. During Winter Ops several teams work together to ensure planes can take off and land safely as soon as possible. The ground handlers de-ice the planes whereas a Brussels Airport team keeps the runways clear. No small feat!

Clear planning

From now on the Airport Operations Centre (APOC) also takes particular account of Winter Ops to limit the impact of adverse winter conditions on our flights. How do we do this? All parties concerned meet one day in advance to establish a plan based on the weather forecasts. This plan stipulates how much manpower we will need to keep the runways snow-free and de-ice the planes, when we can do this and how we will tackle the issue as a team.

This planning is crucial for the airport because it has a major impact on our day-to-day operations. Runways that are being cleared of ice and snow are completely closed for safety reasons. If it takes half an hour to clear the runway of snow and ice, this means no planes will be landing on or taking off from that runway during that period. This has a direct impact on our capacity.

As soon as we at APOC have a clear idea of the impact of the Winter Ops we can make adjustments where possible. If we notice that significant delays are inevitable we inform the airlines of the situation, giving them a full day to decide whether to delay or sometimes even cancel certain flights. This way we make sure that the number of arriving or departing flights fits in with the capacity we can offer and it helps keep delays to a minimum.

Smoothly

In other words, this planning is not only crucial to our airport and our partners but it’s also practical for our passengers. They avoid the risk of making their way to the airport in adverse weather conditions only to hear that their flight has been delayed or cancelled altogether. The adjusted winter schedule enables airlines to notify them in advance which flights will be taking off and which have been cancelled. This not only makes the situation safer for everyone but it also keeps things running smoother in and around the airport.