How do airports handle ice?

Another crucial part of winter airport operations is deicing aircraft before their departure. De-icing fluid may be sprayed on an airplane before departure to remove any snow or ice built upon the aircraft's flight surfaces. If they remained, they could disrupt the airflow over the flight surfaces.



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All airports in climates conducive to ground icing will have some kind of ground deicing systems in place.

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Every airline handles their own de-icing, including purchasing, storing, and applying de-icing and anti-icing fluids to their planes. De-icing solution is a mixture of propylene glycol and water, heated to around 150 degrees, and sprayed under pressure to the wings of an aircraft.

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Frost changes the wing texture to something like sandpaper. Snow is even worse, it changes the aerodynamic shape of the wing. On a “clean” wing, the air flows smoothly. On a wing “contaminated” with frost or snow, the air has trouble sticking to the wing surface.

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The spraying of airplanes as they land is a tradition known as the “water salute.” As explained by Wikipedia, it's performed for ceremonial purposes, such as the retirement of an airplane. When an airplane makes its final flight, it's honored with the water salute once it lands on the tarmac.

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