Airports up and down the Eastern Seaboard were getting back to normal
this week after enduring more than 10,000 weekend flight cancellations
due to Hurricane Irene. The shutdown of flight operations at several
airports created a logjam of passengers beginning Sunday, when
operations resumed at many airports, and continuing through Monday and
even Tuesday.
Major airports say that despite the massive number of cancellations, the
return to normal operations went relatively smoothly. At Philadelphia
International (PHL), for example, several airport staff remained at the
airport throughout the storm, coordinating with various agencies to
ensure that operations would resume safely and efficiently, according to
Victoria Lupica, public relations supervisor. The airport sustained no
damage other than some ceiling leaks.
Lupica says there were regular conference calls with airlines and
federal agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration, the
Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Protection.
The calls also included retail and food concessionaires, airport
operations, the communications center, maintenance and others who had “a
shared vision and plan to put the safety of passengers and employees
first, security the facility and outside equipment and get back to
business safely and efficiently.”
At Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, plans to resume service
began before the weekend. “The work to restart after the storm actually
began days before the storm even arrived,” says spokesperson Pasquale
DiFulco. “On Wednesday and Thursday, as Irene’s storm track became
clear, a number of pre-planned steps were taken, such as inspecting,
fueling and securing vehicles, ensuring drains were clear, communicating
plans among Port Authority staff and within the airport communities
(airlines, TSA, CBP, etc).
“We couldn’t have reopened as quickly and efficiently as we did unless
the preplanning was executed flawlessly, and it was,” DiFulco adds.
Despite the flight cancellations at some airports, staff were in place
throughout the weekend. “We augmented our operations and facilities
staff who were on hand to deal with any issues arising from the storm,”
notes Tara Hamilton, public affairs manager for the Metropolitan
Washington Airports Authority. While flights were canceled at Ronald
Reagan Washington National (DCA), many flights continued throughout the
weekend at Washington Dulles International (IAD), which was spared the
worst of the weather, Hamilton says.
Airports also say expansive communication efforts from airlines and the
airports themselves helped minimize the customer impact. While certainly
many travelers dealt with canceled flights, few were stuck at the
airports. ‘The BWI terminal was very quiet from Saturday afternoon until
Sunday morning,” notes Jonathan Dean, manager, division of
communications, Maryland Aviation Administration. “The airlines reached
out to their travelers to inform them that flights would be cancelled.
And we worked with the news media and social media to inform customers
that essentially all air service was to be halted as of Saturday
afternoon. Therefore, there weren’t a large number of travelers stuck
here at BWI.”
At least some concessions remained open throughout the storm at major
airports, serving not only stranded passengers but also airport, airline
and federal agency staff members. At PANYNJ airports, for example, at
least one food concessionaire must be open 24 hours a day in each
terminal. Fewer than 500 passengers were stranded at the agencies three
main airports, DiFulco says. Other airports have similar policies, and
concessionaires were on board with ensuring those at the airports had
food available.
OTG Management, which operates concessions in several airports impacted
by Hurricane Irene including John F. Kennedy International (JFK),
LaGuardia (LGA), PHL and others, filled a support role for airport,
airline and agency staff as well as stranded travelers, according to CEO
Rick Blatstein.
“We handle something like this similar to a major winter snowstorm,”
Blatstein says. “We work with the airports and the airlines on their
plan and how we can help support them. Not only do we stay open around
the clock in the areas of the airport that stay open, but we also keep
areas open for their crew members.” With travel to and from the airports
an issue, OTG rented hotel rooms near the airports for its staff.
“We didn’t have any glitches,” Blatstein adds. “From crewmembers to
senior leadership, our operations were very prepared, and communication
was very important, whether it was amongst each other or with our
business partners. It just went without a hitch.”
