How does Philadelphia International Airport deal with snow?
The airport’s fleet of snow-tackling machinery sport weather-appropriate names, including Ice Wookie, Snowmizer, Snow Slayer, Arctic Fox, Snow Jawn, and Heatwave.
When it snows at Philadelphia International Airport, some 40 million square feet need to be cleared, which includes airplane runways and taxiways.
Vehicles with plows and brooms start to clear the snow at the airport typically as soon as more than half an inch of wet snow or two inches of dry snow accumulate on runways, according to a statement from the airport.
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On Monday, up to four inches of snow are expected in Philadelphia, and work has been underway to clear the airport’s snow and ice. Roughly 60 flights had been canceled at PHL including outgoing and incoming trips as of 8:30 a.m.
Keeping the airport running includes deploying plows, brooms, deicing fluid, and salt trucks. A “jet broom” at PHL includes a 28-foot plow, 20-foot broom, and can carry over 2,000 gallons of deicing liquid. In total, the airport’s snow equipment can hold roughly 90,000 gallons of deicing liquid, and PHL can also store 2,000 tons of salt in a barn.
Even before the snow falls, the airport is busy preparing for it. Runways are treated by deicer trucks and salt is added to roads.
The airport’s fleet of snow-tackling machinery sport weather-appropriate names: Snow Angel, Ice Wookie, Multifarious, Snowmizer, Snow Slayer, Time Bandit, Arctic Fox, Snow Jawn, Nor’easter, Yeti, Storm Breaker, Terra Hawk, Silver Hawk, Heatwave, Tropic Breeze, and Heatmizer.
The airport has roughly 388 daily departures, including international and domestic flights and carried on average some 85,700 passengers each day between January and October 2024.