Wednesday, October 2, 2024 While parts of the U.S. continue to experience near triple-digit temperatures, the c team is already deep into preparations for the deicing season, which officially begins on October 1.
Ensuring aircraft are cleared of snow, ice, or frost is critical for on-time departures, and American’s highly skilled deicing teams aim to complete this process in an impressive average of nine minutes. Every year, well ahead of the autumn leaves turning, American runs extensive deicing training programs. These sessions ensure thousands of team members are equipped to perform this vital task thoroughly and safely, ensuring passengers reach their destinations without delay.
Much like defrosting a car before hitting the road, aircraft must undergo deicing before taking flight. Gene Herrick, who manages the deicing operations for American Airlines at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), leads one of the largest and busiest deicing teams globally. In a typical season, his crew deices over 10,000 flights at ORD.
American Airlines follows strict deicing guidelines outlined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Transport Canada (TC), and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), ensuring safety and compliance. Recent advancements in deicing technology have improved operational efficiency, including the adoption of electronic spray records and monitoring systems introduced last year. This winter, the team at ORD is capable of deicing up to eight n.