As very wet snow fell on the city Tuesday, staff at Toronto Pearson International Airport were busy clearing the tarmac for its morning flights.
Video posted to social media shows crews circulating the tarmac, pushing snow and water off to the side, allowing planes to get to their destination.
“Over the last year we’ve bought 19 pieces of new equipment, so our fleet now is over 100,” said Sean Davidson, senior advisor of communications and media relations with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.
“What that means for the passenger, bottom line, is that Toronto Pearson now has more equipment and more staff who are able to clear taxiways, runways and aprons so that when you have a flight that you need to get on, it's able to leave quicker because we're able to clear snow faster.”
The tarmac at Toronto Pearson airport is the size of 3,000 NHL hockey rinks, meaning the video shows only a small peek at the work being done on a bad weather day.
Officials noted that crews are able to de-ice about 60 aircrafts per hour— or about 500 planes per day.
As of 1:30 p.m., Davidson said that despite a few delays, operations at the airport have been normal.
“Things are operating very well considering the fact that there is snow.”
Environment Canada issued multiple weather warnings Tuesday forecasting blowing snow and heavy rainfall across Ontario. City and police officials have urged residents to be cautious as they navigate the GTA, saying that flash flooding and slippery conditions are likely.
