Blog: Winter is coming! How the airport prepares for snow and ice

We may be nearing the end of summer, but London Stansted’s snow team is already preparing for winter.  London Stansted’s Airside Training Manager, Charlie Reed, explains how the airport prepares for snow, how it reacts when it does, and how everyone works together to gets flights back in the air as quickly as possible.

During bad weather it’s vital to keep the airport’s single runway clear of snow and ice so aircraft can land and take-off safely.

In late summer the airport’s 200 strong snow team start training and making sure that our specialist fleet of vehicles are fully maintained and ready to go.

We are constantly checking several different monitoring systems from November to build up an accurate picture so we can be ready to take appropriate action.

We use sophisticated weather forecasting systems to make sure we can prepare for whatever the climate throws at us.

When temperatures do plummet, we start by preparing the airfield and applying de-icer to all our surfaces to ensure that are safe for use. This solution prevents the build-up of ice for around 24 hours.

It is also necessary for airlines to de-ice their aircraft in cold, snowy weather in order to ensure that they can function safely.

When snow arrives, we are equipped with around 50 specialist vehicles that can clear our 3048 metre runway in  approximately 30-40 minutes.

However, if the snow continues failing, we will have to re-treat it by clearing again and possibly de-icing.

While we understand that closing the runway will impact our schedule, safety must always be our first priority.

Our main objective when it does snow is to ensure that the whole operation recovers as quickly as possible once aircraft are able to take off and land again safely.

The airport, our airlines, and the air traffic control provider will continue to do everything they can to get flights into the air as quickly as possible, and to get passengers to their destinations.

The snow team put in many hours of practice, so they know exactly what their job is. During winter, the team is on stand-by 24-7 so whatever the weather brings, we are there to keep the airfield safe and minimise any disruption as much as possible to passengers and airlines.