KANSAS CITY AVIATION DEPARTMENT DETAILS SNOW REMOVAL PROCESS AT MCI AND MKC

The Kansas City Aviation Department is responsible for large-scale snow and ice removal at Kansas City International Airport (MCI) and Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC). The Kansas City Airport System is supported by airport user charges and does not utilize general tax fund revenues for administration, promotion, operation, or maintenance of the airports. With 15.4 million square feet of runways, taxiways, and aprons as well as more than 7.2 million square feet of road and parking areas at MCI, the Aviation Department deploys robust snow and ice removal operations during inclement weather events.

Kansa City’s Aviation Department’s airside snow removal fleet consists of 16 rubber-bladed snowplows, 10 rotary brooms, seven snow blowers that can each remove up to 7,500 tons of snow per hour, and three chemical applicator trucks to apply liquid anti-icer. At MCI, the second parallel runway is utilized to handle air traffic during snow removal processes if severe cross-wind conditions do not exist. At MKC, snow removal typically occurs between arriving and departing aircraft. The sand utilized to improve traction on airport pavement surfaces is more expensive compared to the sand used on streets and is specially graded to minimize jet engine ingestion damage. According to the Kansas City Aviation Department, runway clearing can last from 40 to 90 minutes.