Airport holds winter weather training
By A.B. Snedeker

Although Atlanta is not known for snow and ice, what winter weather it does get can be a problem for Hartsfield-Jackson. To be ready for whatever the season may bring, the Airport conducted a winter weather preparedness exercise, which it called Big Bird on Ice.

Airport personnel from Maintenance, Operations, Planning and Development, Police, Fire, Security and C4 participated in the late-night exercise December 2-3. The snow desk was activated and snow removal equipment was deployed as personnel responded to a simulated winter weather scenario.

“We included a snow plow that breaks down in the training scenario, because you can never predict what will really happen in these kinds of situations,” said Peter Ferguson, director of Maintenance.

A main goal of the preparedness exercise was to ensure effective coordination among units during an actual event.

“The team was well-prepared and executed the training plan with precision,” said Balram Bheodari, interim assistant general manager for Operations, Maintenance and Security. “Overall, the training was a huge success.”

Crews fuel Hartsfield-Jackson’s snow removal equipment in preparation for a recent winter weather preparedness exercise.