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Airport considers de-icing rigs after costly closures

ALPENA — The Alpena County Regional Airport is looking for a way to take over aircraft de-icing operations which were once handled by a contractor.

Airport Manager Steve Smigelski visited a pair of similarly sized airports to see what equipment they use and how the operation is done, overall.

Smigelski said he visited Gaylord and Pellston airports and witnessed their de-icing methods. He said it is important the county come up with a plan to remove ice from planes, or it could prevent them from taking off.

“Aviation North had been doing it for us and I had thought Huron Aviation Service would continue to do it, but, apparently it is cost-prohibitive,” Smigelski said. “I visited the other airports because, if it comes down to it and we have to build or buy a rig, I wanted to see what others like us are doing. This time of year, if it is a fixed-wing aircraft, it has to be de-iced before it can go anywhere.”

The second half of winter has not been friendly to the ground crews, or the budget, at the airport. The string of winter snow and ice storms led to a series of closures and canceled flights, even though everything that could be done to remain open was tried.

Smigelski said last weekend there was a snowstorm, which was followed by a 40 degree day when everything thawed and it rained. Everything froze after the temperatures dropped again, he said.

“We had about a quarter of an inch of ice on everything,” he said. “It was crazy.”

Smigelski said that, in the attempt to keep the runway safe, six 400-gallon totes of de-icer were used, costing $1,200 each, as well as more than 120 yards of washed and screened sand, which costs $1,040 per 20 yards. Smigelski said there was also $500 in diesel fuel used and overtime for the employees. Eventually, the airport was able to reopen and the short closure shouldn’t have a large impact on the number of enplanements this month — but it will have an impact on the budget.

“Much of the money I used the last couple of weeks I won’t have to use in November and December if I need it,” Smigelski said. “I won’t get my budget reloaded until Jan.1, so whatever little I have left may or may not cover any bad weather clean-up next winter.”

Smigelski said the airport is not allowed to use salt on the runways, which he said could have made de-icing the runways easier.

He said it isn’t allowed because of the potential damage it can have on aircrafts.

News reporter Crystal Nelson contributed to this story. Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpeanews.com.

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