New runway snow rules could mean added costs for Eastern Iowa Airport

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Eastern Iowa Airport is adjusting to new guidelines for runway conditions, which could cost the airport more when tackling winter weather.

New standards implemented Oct. 1 by the Federal Aviation Administration use a matrix system to rate runway conditions - which could mean the airport needs to use more liquid de-icer on the snow and ice on runways, airport director Marty Lenss said.

The non-toxic, liquid de-icer costs about $4.50 a gallon, and a single pass of the airport's main runway and attached taxiway costs about $5,000, Lenss said.

'What we're learning is, we're going to have to utilize more liquid de-icer - in order to maintain the right runway code in this new matrix - than we used to use last year,” Lenss said. 'So we're anticipating that we may see our expenses go up.”

Lenss said it's difficult to say until after winter ends how much the increased de-icer use will cost. The airport sets a winter weather maintenance budget based on a three-year average, Lenss said.

The most recent three-year average is $241,000. The airport spent $354,000 on snow removal in fiscal year 2014, but only $151,000 last fiscal year.

In the end, it comes down to the weather conditions, said Todd Gibbs, director of operations for the airport. If precipitation is wet or freezing, crews have to use de-icer, he said.

'That has everything to do with Mother Nature. It's almost impossible to budget for that year to year,” he said.

The Eastern Iowa Airport does not receive any city or county property tax revenue. It derives its funding from airline revenues, passenger facilities charges, terminal concessions, ground and facility leases, landing fees, ramp fees, parking revenue and farmland rental.

The FAA's new standards require airport operators, pilots and flight planners to use a Runway Condition Assessment Matrix to ensure runways are safe for incoming aircraft.

The matrix measures the condition of the runway based on 'contaminants” such as snow, ice, water or slush. A dry runway is rated 6; a runway with wet ice, slush over ice, or water over compacted snow gets a 0.

'The result is really a process where the FAA's whole intent here is to improve the reporting of runway conditions, and what I would say is replace a subjective judgment process and make it more of an objective assessment,” Lenss said.

In addition to the standard friction tests, which measure runway conditions, the matrix system may have airport staff conducting more monitoring and reporting of conditions.

So far, the liquid de-icer seems to be the best approach, Lenss said.

'We're being very conservative because safety is clearly the most important thing in keeping a runway open during bad weather,” he said. 'What we've learned is the liquid de-icer seems to be the technique in fighting the storm.”

In addition, runway ratings are factored against the individual incoming aircraft to determine if the runway meets the required rating for a safe landing. Lenss said airplanes of different makes, models and sizes require different minimum conditions to land safely.

'It gives aircraft operators and pilots a much better judgment on how their aircraft is going to perform when they land and take off in snow, ice and slush and all those sorts of things that go into flying in and out of snow belt airports,” he said.