Winter Ready

January 2014 roared into Toronto like a lion, as a so-called “polar vortex” pounded the city last Jan. 5-9 with a relentless onslaught of frigid temperatures, freezing rain, and snow squalls.

At Pearson International Airport (YYZ), things went from bad to worse that week. Canada’s busiest airport—which handles more than 36 million passengers annually—ground to a halt on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014, as the mercury dropped to -25C with a -39C wind chill. The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which oversees YYZ operations, declared a “ground stop” that day due to equipment malfunctions and ground crew safety concerns. Hundreds of flights were cancelled, with thousands of passengers stranded at the airport amidst mountains of luggage. Tempers flared and patience ran out as people were forced to sleep in the terminal; or, worse yet, faced being trapped inside a plane on the tarmac, waiting to disembark.

Following the fiasco at Pearson and the resulting public outcry, the GTAA established an ad hoc committee to review the operational impact of the weather conditions from Jan. 5-9, 2014. The goal was to improve passenger experience during similar future disruptions.

On April 10, 2014, the GTAA released a report containing a dozen recommendations that called for improvement in three areas: preventing or mitigating weather-induced operational disruptions; improving internal and external communications policies; and addressing the needs of affected passengers. The airport operator said it was working with Pearson’s 450-plus service organizations—from the largest airline to the smallest refreshment kiosk—to effect the report’s recommendations. Some immediate changes included the deployment of ground crew warming stations during cold weather. Other improvements would take longer to implement, said the GTAA in the report.

A year later, Scott Armstrong, associate director of communications at the GTAA, told Skies there were a number of factors that contributed to the service disruption at Pearson in January 2014. These included compounded weather challenges, the number of arriving aircraft, and equipment underperformance.

“The review also revealed the need for a harmonized operations plan,” wrote Armstrong. “Improved air traffic management procedures and escalation procedures were necessary, in order to unify processes between the GTAA and our airport partners, in the event of irregular operations.”

Other specific recommendations included the establishment of a central emergency operations centre, as well as protocols for gate clearing, baggage handling and internal/external communications for times when it’s not business as usual.

Armstrong said the GTAA’s goal was to implement all 12 of the recommendations prior to the 2014/2015 winter season. “Each of them has been substantially completed,” he confirmed. “While we can’t change the weather and the fact that weather may always have an impact on air travel, we can ensure that we’re better equipped to manage internal processes; remove snow from key areas of the apron and airfield more efficiently; more effectively inform our employees and our passengers; and ensure our passengers have what they need while they are inside our facilities.”

In early December 2014, Pearson Airport received new snow removal equipment, with operator training commencing immediately. Essential items, such as water and diapers, have been stockpiled for passengers in need during an extreme weather event. “Additionally, updated web capabilities and a new Toronto Pearson app will help the GTAA inform passengers by sending push notifications about delays or cancellations,” explained Armstrong.

With the Old Farmer’s Almanac predicting more wicked winter weather for 2015, it seems that “irregular” weather events such as January 2014’s polar vortex may not be all that unusual after all. The GTAA says that next time, Pearson will be ready for it.