Press Release

Weather disruption - advice for passengers

4 February 2012 - 21.30

 

Despite the snow, Gatwick remains open for business. All 270 scheduled departing flights have now taken off safely from Gatwick Airport leaving only a handful of arriving flights left to be handled before midnight.
 
Latest weather forecasts still indicate that up to 10cm of snow could fall through until the early hours. Our focus, together with our airlines and their handling agents, is to put our snow preparations and plans into action and be ready to safely operate the first wave of flights tomorrow morning.
 
We have invested £8 million to double the size of our snow clearing equipment from 47 vehicles to 95, putting our snow clearing capability on a par with Scandinavian airports more used to dealing with heavy and severe winter conditions.
 
We have also doubled the number of staff trained to operate the snow clearing kit and have enough ant-icing agents to last ten days.
 
However, weather conditions are unpredictable and passengers planning to travel tomorrow should be prepared to expect some disruption, delays and cancellations to their flights.
 
Passengers are strongly advised to check the status of their flight with their airline first before making their way to the airport and allow extra time to travel to the airport as the road and rail networks may be impacted by the weather.
 
We’ll continue to provide regular updates on our website and on Twitter @Gatwick_Airport.
 
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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