The world's largest airplane de-icing facility

An aerial view of LBPIA's de-icing facility

After Charles Lindbergh's first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, he said that the greatest danger he faced was ice formation on the wings and control surfaces of his plane. Within a few years an effective airplane de-icing treatment had been developed, and eventually regulations were brought in to make de-icing mandatory. "No pilot shall take off with an aircraft that has...snow or ice adhering to the wings, fuselage, stabilizing or control surfaces..." Federal Aviation Adminstration Regulation, FAR part-121

Current de-icing technology uses an application of hot glycol fluid to remove frost, ice and snow, sometimes followed by an application of an anti-icing agent consisting of glycol with a polymeric thickener. This can prevent the formation of fresh ice for as long as an hour. Mobile de-icing units are common, usually working on the plane as it stands on the apron, but in a large, busy airport a central de-icing facility provides more efficient service. Planes are treated as they move towards the runway for takeoff, reducing holdover time, and the environmental effects of spilt glycol are better dealt with at a purpose-designed facility.

Icing is a special problem at airports in the high latitudes, and Acres has undertaken several projects at Canadian airports, among them Vancouver, Ottawa, and Lester B Pearson International Airport (LBPIA) in Toronto. The largest of these projects - and the largest de-icing facility in the world - is at LBPIA and cost $65 million, with construction supervised by Acres. The facility began with a single de-icing pad in 1996, with three pads added in 1998 and two more in 1999. Each pad can accommodate two large aircraft, one being de-iced while the other waits its turn, or four smaller aircraft. Each pad has a computerized system to direct aircraft to the correct de-icing stand, and then to runways for takeoff.

A night-time view of LBPIA's de-icing facility

Glycols are all toxic to some extent, and the LBPIA facility is built over a special liner which collects runoff from the pads. Depending on the level of glycol the runoff is either directed to the storm sewer system, or to special holding tanks for later treatment as hazardous waste. At Vancouver, where the milder climate reduces the necessity for de-icing, we designed two separate facilities, each capable of treating three aircraft simultaneously. The central facility at Ottawa airport was designed by Acres. Meanwhile, back at LBPIA, we are involved in design and construction of an additional 3-pad facility which will be in operation late in 2004.

There are other methods of de-icing aircraft, such as infrared heating in a drive-through hangar, but the environmental challenge is still there because a glycol anti-icing fluid must be applied before takeoff. The way ahead for glycol de-icing appears to be greater emphasis on centralized facilities, and more precise monitoring of application, to further minimize runoff.

Please contact Geoff Bubbers if you have any questions about airport de-icing or would just like to find out more about Acres experience and expertise in airports. He can be reached at: Tel: (905) 469-3400; Fax: (905) 469-3404; email: gbubbers@acres.com

Or visit us at www.acres.com.