ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke Blacksburg Regional Airport’s operations and maintenance team is gearing up for winter weather by conducting dry runs to simulate storm response and ensure runways stay clear.
“Our incredible employees are going to be working 12-hour shifts,” said Alexa Briehl, the airport’s marketing and media manager.
Jayme Verish, director of operations and maintenance, explained the team’s preparation process. “Our team is getting ready to do what we call dry runs, so we’ll get up in the equipment, get everything ready to go, refamiliarize ourselves with the controls and how everything handles.”
The dry runs involve a full practice of the procedures used before and during a winter storm. “We practice talking to the tower on how we want to get where we need to go, which way we turn our plow, which way we turn our broom to get the best effect,” Verish said.
The airport keeps all the snow removal equipment in a warehouse on site. Verish described the tools and techniques used: “We’re using a mix of machines like the ones that we have around us and chemicals, so different types of storms, different types of response.”
For storms involving freezing rain, the team lines up brooms and plows in what they call a “conga line,” stacking and staggering them in a slanted formation to efficiently clear runways.
While the operations team continuously monitors weather conditions, decisions about flight cancellations or delays involve collaboration. “We’re always in close communication with our operations team and the terminal, as well as the tower. At the end of the day, it’s a pilot decision,” Briehl said.
Verish added, “We will give them an objective look on what we see or how we’ve treated it, and then they make a decision based on that.”