North Texas is expected to get snow and sleet this week. How will that impact the airports?
DALLAS — North Texas was expected to get a combination of snow and sleet this week, beginning late Wednesday night through Friday morning. And if you’re new around here, just know this: Our roads and highways (and drivers, for that matter) typically don’t handle winter weather as well as northern cities more accustomed to snowy conditions.
But how will the wintry precipitation affect our two major airports, Dallas-Fort Worth International and Dallas Love Field? And can planes fly in the snow?
The short answer to the second question: Yes, they can.
The longer answer to both questions: Travelers should prepare for delays, as pilots, flight crews and airport personnel take a few extra precautions in the potentially icy, freezing weather.
“Inclement weather, especially winter weather, is a serious challenge for airplanes,” said Scott Shankland, a veteran airline pilot based in North Texas. “What happens when we get snow or ice, or particularly freezing rain, is that it can really affect the performance of the aircraft. What happens is we get snow or ice that adheres to the skin of the aircraft, and we call that ‘contamination.'”
Contamination on an aircraft can decrease lift, Shankland explained. There’s also the risk of pieces of ice breaking off the body of the plane and causing engine damage. These risks are why all passenger planes have to be de-iced before taking off in wintry conditions.
Shankland said the actual process of de-icing doesn’t take too long — maybe 20 minutes once an aircraft reaches the pre-takeoff de-icing pad, and some airports have the capability of de-icing the plane at its gate. But for airports with a designated de-icing pad on the tarmac, like DFW for example, the process of planes waiting in line to be de-iced can contribute to delays.
Once the de-icing is done, planes are “usually fairly quick” to the runway for takeoff, Shankland said. The runway can bring an added element of concern during icy conditions. At both takeoff and landing, pilots with a de-iced aircraft are then factoring in potential runway contamination — ice or snow, for example — that could affect stopping distance.
“If the runway’s icy or snowy, your stopping distance increases significantly,” Shankland said.
Once a plane goes airborne, the plane has anti-icing equipment to prevent re-icing in the air. A heavy snow storm could affect visibility for pilots, similar to rain, Shankland said, but conditions tend to improve the higher the plane goes.
“The weather could be horrible on the ground at the airport, and we’ll climb a few thousand feet and all of sudden we pop out of the clouds and it’s beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine,” Shankland said.
North Texas Congressman Jake Ellzey, also a veteran commercial airline pilot, said the de-icing procedures and the increased distance between arriving aircraft can both contribute to delays during wintry conditions. But all in all, Ellzey said, it’s a series of protocols that U.S. pilots and airports have been operating for decades.
“It’s safe to fly in the snow,” Ellzey said. “We’ve gotten this down to a very safe [process].”
And even with delays likely expected, Ellzey said it would take extreme weather to shut down a major U.S. airport like DFW: A blizzard with high winds, a major power outage or “zero-zero” visibility conditions, meaning fog is too heavy for pilots to see above or in front of their aircraft.