LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As a significant winter storm is expected to blanket the region this weekend, Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport said it is preparing for round-the-clock snow removal operations while airlines weigh major schedule reductions.
Airport leaders said Friday that coordination with airlines and their partners have been underway for days.
"We're feeling really good about all the resources we're going to throw at this event to maintain operations here at the airport,” said Megan Atkins Thoben, the airports Vice President of Operations.
Airport officials said they're prepared to use all nine of their MB2 snow plows, which can plow 24 feet at a time. They are each equipped with 22-foot snow brooms and an air blast system.
This equipment, which was purchased following a $14 million investment in 2019, has helped cut snow removal time in half at the airport.
But it's not the runways that present the biggest challenge. It's the airplanes sitting on those runways when snow is falling.
"A lot of airline partners are thinking it's probably not a good idea to have a lot of aircraft on the ground here, just because once snow gets on them, de-icing efforts are difficult, when you've got continuous snowfall," Thoben said.
With heavy snow expected to begin Saturday and last through Sunday, Atkins Thoben said airlines are already planning to reduce or eliminate some flights.
Some airlines have already shifted weekend departures to Friday.
"I was scheduled to fly out tomorrow," said Whitney Peterson, just ahead of his flight to Portland, Oregon. "(The airline) moved it, and then it got cancelled the second time. So, I jumped online and found out I could get out (Friday) and made it happen."
Other airlines are pushing back arrivals from the weekend to early next week, and many passengers are being proactive and changing their flights themselves.
"I was originally going to come back Sunday, but I changed it to Monday because of the snow and stuff," said Zachary Settles, who is headed for warmer weather in Orlando to visit his sister.
One traveler from Sellersburg, Indiana said he's headed south to avoid the weather and doesn't know when he's returning. "When the fish quit biting and the snow is gone," he joked.
While officials at the airport urge travelers to check with their airlines ahead of their trip to the airports, they said that information should be more clear by late Friday night or early this weekend.
"Before that time when you have to leave for the airport to get here, you should know from your airline whether you're going to fly," Thoben said.
The Louisville airport expects disruptions on Saturday and Sunday, but is preparing for business as usual by Monday.
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