Over a 20-hour period on December 20-21, John F. Kennedy International Airport accumulated 14 inches of snow. Despite that, the airport remained open during the entire event, with at least one runway in use at all times.
This performance demonstrates the value of collaborative decision making on a common platform. Had the airlines and the airport not actively communicated with each other to coordinate their plans, monitor critical components of the airfield operation, and arrive at a good departure metering solution, the airport very well could have experienced a more severe disruption on Saturday evening. The performance is a testament to effective planning and commonly accepted protocols and business practices, all executed online for effective coordination, communication and collaboration.
Airlines from around the world were able to access all the relevant information about JFK throughout the storm -- field condition reports, tenant advisories, landside and ground transportation conditions -- and coordinate their departure operation, all online.
A lot of advanced planning and training with PANYNJ and the carriers is one reason for this performance. Another important component in managing the event was the use of the departure management/sequencing module within PASSUR OPSnet. This allows for all carriers to submit their departure time preferences online, where they are processed by the PASSUR snow operations team, assigned and distributed, all using the online capabilities of the program. The result is a coordinated effort that maximizes capacity to ensure an efficient departure flow.
- Formal departure metering was in effect, starting at 1820 (local) on December 19 and remained in effect until 0245 (local) the following morning, ensuring effective departure sequencing.
- As John Selden, JFK's Director of Air Operations, noted (referring to a new addition to the departure management process), "The slot calculator was a very nice addition that relieved some of the burden of calculating who gets how many slots per hour. That worked out very well."
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In order to accurately assess departure demand, all carriers began entering their planned taxi times into the PASSUR OPSnet departure coordination module at 1330 on Saturday, well ahead of the start of the actual departure metering program.
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Using PASSUR OPSnet, changing departure slots were reassigned and the operation was reset as needed.
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Recovery was swift and the departure and arrival flow rates were steady for the remainder of the storm. Flight operations continued throughout the night and into the next day without incident.
Combined with extremely poor visibility, the heavy snow accumulations created conditions for much-shortened deicing "holdover" times -- the expiration of deicing fluid effectiveness, after which a repeat deicing is required. Planning favored arrivals, putting additional constraints on the departure flow.
The most intense and critical period in the operation was from 1830 to 2200 when snowfall rate and traffic demand were at their peak. A combination of circumstances delayed takeoffs in this time period, requiring several flights to return to their gates. Surface congestion, gate availability, deicing delays, and crew duty time issues threatened to disrupt the entire operation. The use of the departure management/sequencing module was an important component in maintaining the operation at this challenging point.
