BANGOR, Maine — Bangor International Airport and other airports in Maine work around the clock to ensure travel safety in snowy days. Behind the scenes is a big operation.
Twenty-four members at the Bangor Airport work on keeping the runway clear of snow and ice. They use plowers, blowers, brooms, and airplane de-icers to make sure planes are landing and departing safely.
Their main priority is to always keep the travelers and crew members as safe as possible with snowy winter conditions.
"We pride ourselves on that here in Bangor, we are known for keeping out runway open because of our crews so we want to make sure that any arriving or departing aircraft has a great surface to operate on," Curt Davis, the Manager of airport operations at the Bangor International Airport, said.
"It's a 24-hour process and many times it's over many days and nights," Davis said.
Davis and his team take plows out in rounds to clear the runway, in snow days, it happens almost all day long.
"Work on what needs to be done to prepare for arrivals and departures," Davis said.
"The work outside is actually sort of a science," Aimee Thibodeau, the Marketing and Business Development Manager, said, "...they are watching the temperature of the air, the temperature of the pavement, what type of precipitation has fallen, is falling, is expected to fall."
Airport crews all work with one goal in mind: safety.
"It's always last option to close, but [the] first option if it's safety-related," Davis said.
Airport officials say in the end, it's the airlines who decide when to cancel or delay flights.
As always, it's best to check the airlines' mobile apps or websites to check on flights before heading to the airport.