AENA prepare airports for arctic conditions

 

The Ministry of Development together with AENA have stepped up their 'Plan Invierno' in preparation for the Siberian weather conditions expected to hit much of Spain over the course of the next few days and across the weekend.

A total of 32 provinces have been placed on yellow alert over the next few days for low temperatures, wind and snow, with orange alerts snow and coastal winds being put in place for the Cantabria mountains, Pyrenees, the Girona Coast, Mallorca and Menorca.

The airports authority currently has some 85 vehicles specially designed for the removal of snow and ice from the runways together with a range of blowers and gritters that can be retro-fitted to existing vehicles such as fire trucks.

During the winter, work will focus on comprehensive monitoring of the weather, continuous checking of the state of the runway surface, taxiway and apron, and to ensure the availability of equipment and materials.

In December it was announced how AENA had invested some 3.9 Million euros in providing machinery and specialist training for 450 employees in order that the airports could remain operational in the face of challenging climatic conditions this winter.