Local airports talk about how winter affects operations

Schools have closed. City and government offices have closed. All because of winter weather and bad storms. But one place that hasn’t seemed to cease operations are airports.

Local airports said the winter has been tough and is affecting operations, but they have managed to keep running.

Right now, the runways at the Pocatello Regional Airport are clear and snow-free. But it took a lot of hard work by maintenance crews to get them that way.

The Pocatello airport has three crew members who are charge of all the plowing – runways, parking lots, all of it. And the airport said this is a tougher winter than it has seen in awhile.

“It definitely has been more of a challenge than winters past,” said Kristy Heinz, airport secretary and security coordinator.

One of the biggest struggles crews have faced this winter is lots and lots of ice.

“We’ve had a big problem with ice and in fact, this is the first winter ever that we have had to order and use deicer product on our runways,” Heinz said. “We’ve always just plowed and broomed and sanded but that hasn’t’ been working this winter.”

With such a small crew, workers have put in a lot of overtime and long hours.

Heinz said the cost of all the extra fuel and deicer has really added up. She said the airport has had to order fuel three to four times in a month, which is a lot more than usual.

Heinz said it’s all taking a toll on the airport’s budget. The airport is way over its monthly projected budget and is already halfway through its annual winter budget.

But it’s not just Pocatello. The Idaho Falls Regional Airport is seeing much of the same.

The airport director said the Idaho Falls airport is about halfway through its annual budget too. But he said they do have some contingency funds set aside for emergencies as well.

Idaho Falls said it has four full-time crew members working on plowing and maintaining runways. It also has three part-time workers it brings in for large storms. The director said the last storm to hit the region kept crews out there for 36 hours of non-stop plowing. He said crews did switch off every 10 hours, but there was always a crew working to clear the runways.

Even with the difficulties this winter, both Pocatello and Idaho Falls said closures haven’t really been necessary. One day this winter, Idaho Falls did have to close its runways for about an hour and a half to two hours for crews to clear all the ice. Both airports said other than that, it has mostly dealt with a few delays and a few cancelations.

Both airports said even with having a smaller staff than larger airports, the crews do a great job at keeping the airport up and running. Crews are very efficient.

“We are so impressed with our staff here,” Heinz said. “We’ve always had a very small staff of employees and they work tirelessly and non-stop – nights, weekends, holidays – and they just do an amazing job.”

All airports have to use FAA-approved equipment and products as well.

The airports want to remind travelers to allow plenty of travel time and to arrive early for flights, especially during the winter.