Courtesy Photo A SkyWest jet is parked near the passenger terminal in Alpena on Jan. 18.

ALPENA — The pair of snowstorms last week in the Alpena area forced the cancellation of a dozen flights to and from the Alpena County Regional Airport and the Detroit Metro Airport.

The cancellations left travelers stranded in Detroit and those in Alpena scrambling to find a way to get to Detroit to catch connecting flights to their final destination.

Airport Manager Steve Smigelski said issues with runway snow removal equipment, high winds, and cold temperatures were the leading factors for the closure of the airport.

He said SkyWest, the commercial airline in Alpena, also has high safety standards for runway friction during winter, which could not be met.

Smigelski tried to arrange a “rescue” flight to get the travelers stuck in Detroit, but the weather conditions didn’t allow for one, Smigelski said.

He said maintaining the runway is always a challenge during winter weather, but last week pushed the employees and equipment to their breaking points.

He said Alpena County owns one runway snow blower, which has been broken for months, and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center has two. He said special engineers have tried to repair the blower that is not operating, but they have been unable to determine the issue.

During snow events, the CRTC has used its large snow blowers to keep the runways clear, but during the first storm last week, one of the bases’ machines broke down during a small snow event at the end of December.

Neither of the snow blowers was able to be repaired before the more recent storms, and the final one experienced a breakdown during the bad weather last week.

Smigelski said mechanics worked many hours taking parts from one machine and switching them into another to get one blower that works. He said by then, the weather conditions had deteriorated to the point where keeping the runway operable was impossible.

Besides the snow, Smigelski said, there was ice on the runway and as the temperatures plunged, the liquid deicer used was ineffective.

In an attempt to improve traction and allow planes to take off and land, Smigelski said about 15 truckloads of sand were spread on the runway to increase the friction level, but the strong winds blew the sand to the side and conditions didn’t improve enough to meet SkyWest’s minimum friction standards for landing.

Smigelski said the airport reopened and SkyWest flights resumed on Wednesday, but he added that employees did everything in their power to open the airport sooner and get travelers to their destinations.

“The guys really busted their tails off, but sometimes, Mother Nature wins,” he said.

Smigelski said three times a day, the condition of the runway is checked and posted online. The report, which also shares friction levels, is seen by airlines and other pilots who then determine whether it is safe to use the landing strip.

In this instance, Smigelski said, SkyWest didn’t feel it was safe enough.

Although there aren’t any snowstorms in the immediate forecast, it would be foolish to think that the snow for the season is done. Smigelski said an equipment specialist from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago intends to come to Alpena to fix the county-owned blower. He said the county also intends to purchase a pair of snow plows and a new blower, but it will take time for them to be built and delivered.

“We tried to get the two plow trucks last year, but we didn’t receive any bids,” he said. “This year we are going to try to order two trucks and a new runway blower. But, it will take time. These are custom built and work on them doesn’t begin on them until they are ordered. I think it could take up to a year for us to get them.”

For now, Smigelski said the airport and CRTC will work with what they have to keep the runway safe and keep travelers enroute to their destinations.