When winter takes hold in Atlanta, it marks the start of a season that could bring disruptions to road traffic, school schedules — and operations at the world’s busiest airport.
Snow and ice at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport can lead to hundreds of flight cancellations and aggravation for travelers.
Atlanta airport officials on Wednesday held their annual winter weather drill to rehearse how they’d handle freezing rain and flight disruptions.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
The four-hour exercise known as “Big Bird on Ice” involved about 200 people around the airport, including government agencies, airlines and concessionaires. It’s a cold weather version of the airport’s “Big Bird” airplane disaster drill held every three years.
“We want to make sure that we can ensure continuous operations every day at the airport,” said Gus Hudson, assistant general manager of emergency management at Hartsfield-Jackson.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
At the airport’s Centralized Command and Control Center, officials from the airport, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, local and federal agencies rehearsed how they would respond to stranded passengers after flight cancellations ― handing out cots and pillows to some who have to sleep in the terminal overnight. The drill also included a mock auto accident that temporarily shut down Camp Creek Parkway.
On the airfield, one runway on the south side of the airport was closed for snow removal exercises, while others practiced deicing airplanes.
“We work in tandem with the FAA” for the drill, Hudson said. “They allow us to get out there and practice.”
Credit: Source: Hartsfield-Jackson
Credit: Source: Hartsfield-Jackson
As Delta’s biggest hub and the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson plays an outsize role in global travel.
“Anytime anything happens at the airport, it impacts air traffic around the world,” he said.
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