Troy Donahue (fourth from left), Division Manager for Corrective Maintenance at IAH, led his team in training activities for the new de-icing equipment on the morning of February 6.
Each day, Houston Airports celebrates the magic of flight through its service to an average of 159,000 passengers (2018 statistics).
Along with that magic comes challenges that must be addressed as the safe passage of passengers and staff is paramount in the thinking and actions of Houston Airports. Even with the most advanced meteorological equipment in history, weather can still be unpredictable. Properly dealing with the challenges of weather requires diligence to avoid accidents, delays, cancellations and the like.
One such challenge that George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) recently addressed is an upgrade in its roadway de-icing equipment. De-icing is the removal of ice, frost, or snow from a surface.
And yes, even in Houston, though infrequently, de-icing must be dealt with. Troy Donahue, Division Manager for Corrective Maintenance at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), said, “We have a frost plan and we have an ice plan, and our dedicated team is ready to spring into action when needed.”
Donahue said that the “season” for addressing de-icing in Houston is typically between December and February. “In 2018, we had one event,” he said, and “and in 2017 we had two events.”
Dealing with those events in a timely manner is crucial; otherwise, the consequences can be major.
Houston Airports recently purchased one SnowEx liquid sprayer and two truck-mounted SnowEx sanding units, which will be used in place of a piece of equipment that is still functional but has been in use since 1999. “It’s still effective,” Donahue said, “and certainly wasn’t used very frequently, but yes, we are very pleased to have these new units to assist in treating areas such as flyover bridges and our terminal area u-ramps.
The long-term plan, he said is for Houston Airports to get a self-contained de-icing truck.
The de-icing team is available when needed and has had instances of working around the clock to keep the roadways open. Typically, the team of from 5 to 12 individuals works in 12-hour shifts.
“We coordinate with others and determine what runway the airlines are going to use,” Donahue said, “The treatments consist of using liquid potassium acetate and sodium formate/acetate blend. “We use about 1,000 gallons per pass on the runways, and we can make as many as six or seven passes, depending on the need,” Donahue said.
Ideally, he said, depending on their prior knowledge of an upcoming weather event, they can apply anti-icing to the roadways. Anti-icing employs the same substance on dry pavement. Anti-icing not only de-ices but remains on a surface and delays ice reforming for a certain period or prevents the adhesion of ice that can make mechanical removal easier.
Houston Airports forms one of North America's largest public airport systems, so it is essential that Houston Airports be ready for any and all situations, whether frequent or occasional. “For us,” Donahue said, “de-icing is one of those events for which we have to be ready. The new SnowEx equipment will improve our process and hopefully keep our u-ramps and flyover bridges open.”
He has scheduled training activities for the new equipment to commence in early February 2019.
“The safety and security of our passengers, our tenants, and our people is of utmost importance to us all,” Donahue said. “We are ready.”