O'Hare and Midway International Airports are prepared for whatever Winter 2011-2012 brings, no matter how much snow, ice and cold hit Chicago this winter, Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) officials said today.

CDA senior staff members joined other city department officials at a news conference at the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), where Executive Director Gary W. Schenkel advised Chicago residents how to plan ahead for winter weather emergencies.

"The Chicago Department of Aviation is prepared to devote all necessary resources, including our well-trained and experienced operations team and our state-of-the-art snow equipment and materials, to clear snow from runways, taxiways, roadways, parking lots and sidewalks," CDA Commissioner Rosemarie S. Andolino said.

The CDA (O'Hare and Midway) has a staff of more than 500 personnel assigned in support of winter snow removal operations. Highly-qualified Motor Truck Drivers (MTD), Operations Managers and Facilities personnel work closely with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and airline officials to coordinate snow removal to ensure safe, efficient operations 24-hours a day.   

"Chicago's airports historically perform exceptionally well in tough weather circumstances because of months of planning and from the training our employees undergo. This was demonstrated throughout last winter, especially during the February 2011 blizzard when Chicago received more than 20 inches of snow," Commissioner Andolino said. "After the historic storm we had both airports operational and that quick recovery allowed airlines the ability to run full schedules and begin to resume normal operations one day after the storm ended."

Andolino invites Chicagoans and travelers to check out a photo essay of the snow removal operations at O'Hare after the 2011 blizzard on the CDA's Web site, flychicago.com. Click here to watch the video.