Hazard- Snow and Icy Conditions
Helsinki Airport’s 12-month Winter Maintenance Strategy
Finavia clears snow from a runway in 11 minutes
Keywords
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is in the city of Vantaa and serves the capital Helsinki and the Uusimaa region. The airport has 3 runways catering to a traffic of 15.3 million passengers in 2023, the airport processes 90% of the international traffic in the country.
Helsinki faces winter conditions for almost one third of the year. To maintain runway conditions for smooth operations, the airport has dedicated maintenance teams which overlook runway clearance during the winter months. The following strategies are followed to ensure continuous operations
- Continuous weather data and tarmac temperature monitoring
- Dedicated snow clearance team and fleet
- Innovative maintenance procedures
Evidence of the Solution(s) Effectiveness or Potential Impact
Snow and ice can potentially impair the friction of the runway surfaces. The maintenance and air traffic control team work together at Helsinki to monitor the weather forecast. Further, all runways are equipped with high-tech sensors that monitor temperature changes on the tarmac (surface and underneath), constantly. This allows the airport to predict weather conditions 6-8 hours in advance, enabling them to mobilize their maintenance team and plans.
The airport has dedicated permanent and seasonal workers who perform the maintenance. During the summer months the permanent workers update their winter plans and undergo trainings to upgrade their skills. Summer is also used to hire seasonal staff and train them. The airport also has an extensive fleet which includes 21 sweeper blowers, 19 trucks for anti-skid operations and snow removal, 12-wheel loaders, 12 snow blowers, three friction tester vehicles and two motor graders.
On the innovation front, the airport is developing an efficient brush-blower vehicle, suitable for use on runway. The product is currently 25m long and 32 tonnes in weight and can plough an area of 9 m in width. Snowbanks formed at the runway edges are lowered using snowblowers with four-wheel steering and over 1000 horsepower. Further, an icebreaker is used to dismantle the ice around the parking areas to enable operations on the aprons.
The maintenance team has over 20 procedures which have been designed and practiced in advance in collaboration with the air traffic control. Further, specialized service cars were developed to change the runway lights. The car allows the technicians to change the lights underneath the car, with a life going directly to the light. The covered space allows them to remove their gloves for the maintenance work in sub-zero temperatures. Cameras placed behind the car allow for accurate parking over the lights. Such equipment’s have been developed and customized by the airport.
