HYANNIS – This harsh winter has been tough on Barnstable Municipal Airport.
Crews have been working around the clock to try and keep the runways clean during some of the recent storms, but even when it is not snowing, conditions have been difficult.
“Every time our crews would go down the runway, the wind would just move the snow right back up and over all of the lights and the signs,” said Assistant Airport Manager Katie Servis, speaking of Monday’s conditions. “For a pilot, a visual clue as to where they are in the airfield is extremely important.”
Servis said their nine-member operations team has been trying their best to keep at least one runway open as much as possible, a challenging task which has been made somewhat easier by some new heavy equipment.
“We have a new plow that we use on a front-end loader that is a 48-foot plow. That’s pretty significant. That’s a huge piece of machinery. It’s been able to clear our ramps a lot quicker than in the past,” Servis said.
