If you operate at an airport that experienced the extreme impacts of extreme cold this winter – which affected pretty much every part of the country except Florida – there is much to learn from the report just published last week by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.
The GTAA undertook a 90-day review of just what happened on five particularly cold days in January this year that wreaked havoc on its operations. The airport consulted stakeholders and its own management team, but also invited input from airport employees, travelers and the general public I was particularly impressed that the airport authority sought input from airport workers. Too often frontline workers are excluded from these types of reviews when they have so much knowledge to contribute in terms of how things actually work on the ground.
The GTAA also used an independent panel to assess the input and recommendations.
The findings have resulted in 12 recommendations to improve the passenger experience during irregular operations. They focus on improvements to three areas:
- Operations
- Communications
- Passenger well-being.
Some of the changes have already been implemented; some will take more time. In November, the GTAA will be issuing a report on its progress.
Here is a link to the report. But if you hate clicking on links, here are the eight recommendation for Operations. I particularly like Recommendation No. 5 regarding proactively deploying warming stations for employees. Having worked many a cold winter at Northeast airports, it’s amazing how cold slows people down, which in turn slows down the entire airport operation. Investing in a few warming stations can make a big difference in productivity.
Recommendation 1: Revise and test the GTAA’s Irregular Operations Plan to harmonize with the operations plans of airport service providers to improve the airport’s response to unusual winter weather and other disruptions.
Recommendation 2: Establish clear early-warning criteria and define joint escalation levels and procedures within the GTAA and among key airport service providers to ensure timely, responsive and coordinated decision-making where large-scale service-level disruptions occur or are imminent.
Recommendation 3: Expand and better equip the Emergency Operations Centre to allow for improved coordination of airport service providers.
Recommendation 4: Secure additional equipment for unusual winter weather operations to improve the resilience of the airport to weather.
Recommendation 5: Proactively deploy warming stations to protect ground support crews during unusually cold weather.
Recommendation 6: Establish a joint traffic management team to improve aircraft arrival and departure metering to allow for active management of potential imbalances during irregular operations.
Recommendation 7: Improve the GTAA’s Apron Snow and Ice Removal Plan to enable better gate access during weather disruptions.
Recommendation 8: Develop, implement and test an arrival baggage Irregular Operations Plan and identify baggage system and handling escalation criteria to better monitor the inbound baggage process.
