Manchester Airport weather: How the airport prepares for snow and ice - as passengers slam it as being 'utterly incompetent'

Manchester Airport was temporarily closed this morning (Monday 6 January), but has since re-opened, due to heavy snow. It came after the airport closed briefly on Sunday morning (5 January) due to the weather - and re-opened for the rest of the day.

This morning the airport said: “Our runways are now open but, as a result of the earlier closure, some departures and arrivals may still experience delays. Please check with your airline for the latest flight information and allow extra time for your journey today.

“We would like to thank our teams for their hard work in getting the runways operational again. The safety of our customers remains our top priority. Thank you for your understanding and patience”.

Passengers took to social media furious as they were stuck on planes this morning. One person wrote: “And why are we still boarding? Got the announcement just when boarding started. Now we are stuck in the plane until 10 at least?!”.

Another user wrote: “I'm sat on one of your planes and there isn't, and hasn't been, any heavy snow. There is about half an inch of sludge on the ground. There are cars speeding all over the runway ffs.“

Following the disruption this morning, users have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to criticise the airport for not having in a plan in place earlier to deal with the snow and ice. One person said: “Bunch of absolute clowns. You know the forecast in advance, there’s barely any snow and it’s still utter incompetence on every level.“

While another said: “Flight cancelled yesterday, my replacement flight already delayed 2 hours already. Absolute joke how you aren’t prepared for this.”

On its website Manchester Airport says it takes “a range of measures to make sure the potential for disruption is minimised.” It adds: “Passengers can also prepare to help make travelling through the airport during wintry weather easier.

“With more than 20 miles of runways and taxiways – plus a significant road network, miles of footpaths, a train, tram and bus station and several sizeable car parks – keeping it running during the worst of the winter’s weather is no small task. But despite that, significant disruption due to snow and ice is rare because of the work that goes into mitigating the effects.”

Listed below are the ways that the airport tries to minimise disruption.

Monitoring the weather

Manchester Airport uses sophisticated forecasting systems that monitor the exact air pressure around the airfield, the precise level of the clouds and more. This means that teams at the airport know not only when snow is likely to start falling but also the temperature of the tarmac on the airfield and the likelihood of any snow settling.

Putting extra staff in place

During the winter months there are extra staff on rotas all over the airport, including an adverse weather standby team who can be deployed depending on the forecast. It also has a dedicated 100-person resilience team trained in different roles around the airport who can help out.

Treating surfaces all around the airport

The airport’s road network, including all the car parks and footpaths, is treated with grit and salt in much the same way as other busy roads and pavements to make sure they are safe for users. This happens throughout the winter.

On the airfield it is a slightly different picture; grit is not suitable for airfields as it is corrosive and can damage aircraft. That is why the airport uses a de-icing fluid on the runways and taxiways that prevents them from freezing.

Specialist snow and ice clearing vehicles

The de-icing measures will prevent some snow from building up but when it is heavy that can still happen. Manchester Airport has a fleet of more than 30 snow clearing vehicles fitted with ploughs, blowers, brushes and more.

Closing the airfield

Manchester Airport closes the airfield when snow reaches a certain depth. Doing this allows for the full mobilisation of its fleet of snow clearing vehicles so that runways can be cleared more quickly. These closures are usually short and are an important safety measure.