Press Release

Weather disruption - advice for passengers

4 February 2012 - 17.00

Latest weather forecasts show that snow is expected to start falling at Gatwick at around 2000hrs tonight, with intense snowfall starting at around midnight and lasting into the early hours of Sunday morning.  

Gatwick Airport is currently operating business as normal and continues to work with airlines and their handling agents to ensure the airport operates with minimal disruption to passengers and their flights should heavy and consistent snow hit the airport.  

That said, passengers should be prepared to expect some disruption, delays and potentially some cancellations to their flights. Passengers planning to travel through Gatwick today and tomorrow should check the status of their flight with their airline first and allow extra time to travel to the airport as the road and rail networks may be impacted by the weather.

We have invested £8 million to double the size of the snow clearing equipment from 47 vehicles to 95, putting our snow clearing capability on a par with Oslo airport.  We have also more than doubled the number of staff trained to operate the snow clearing equipment and doubled the capacity of anti-icing agents. All of this combined will give us the ability to clear the runway of snow more quickly and get passengers flying again safely. 

In the event of disruption, the welfare of passengers will be our top priority. 

Notes to editors

Winter Weather Facts

  • This year we have doubled the size of the snow clearing kit to 95 through an £8 million investment programme
  • The kit includes snow ploughs, brushes, cutters, blowers and de-icing vehicles as well as tractors and other small plant equipment
  • Gatwick now has 14 snow ploughs for its single runway
  • We have 680,000 litres of anti-icing agents in stock - double the capacity of 2010
  • We have more than doubled the number of trained staff to carry our snow clearing activities. This includes trained resources from other parts of the business.
  • Gatwick has 1.8 million sq ft of runway to clear of snow and anti-ice
  • In total, Gatwick has around 23 miles of surface roads to clear of snow and ice
  • Gatwick is responsible for clearing snow and de-icing the runway, taxiways, car parks and airport roads
  • Airlines and their handling agents are responsible for clearing snow and de-icing the aircraft stands and the aircraft and ensuring they have enough de-icing agents at the airport
  • Gatwick makes available six de-icing rigs used by the airlines and their handling agents
  • Gatwick can store up to 680,000 litres of anti-icing agents – double the capacity of 2010-11  and enough to last ten days

 

 

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