The biennial Clariant De-icing Conference is renowned for being a fascinating forum for discussion of the latest trends within the international airport winter operations industry; taking place in June in Barcelona, this year’s conference was no different, reveals Airside’s Harley Khan
The conference chairman and head of aviation business EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Dennis Mistreanu, opened proceedings with a video transmission highlighting the wide-ranging capabilities of Clariant: promoting safe production of oil and gas, transforming agricultural reservoir waste into biofuels and, most pertinently, ensuring safe flying during icy winter conditions.
With the theme of the conference being innovation and development, Oliver Mogck, head of technical application EMEA at Clariant, began by considering the current practices regarding quality control of aircraft de-icing fluid (ADF). He spoke of how international standards provider SAE offers regulations and qualifications for all industry aircraft de-icing fluids, while also educating the audience on the different aspects of how to carefully deliver, check, store and handle ADF.
Mogck talked of past horrors, including ADF samples being sent to him in broken beer bottles, the example acting as a warning to the audience of the importance of sending quality samples for assessment. He also discussed CDM – collaborative decision-making – and the work of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on providing an additional regulatory framework for de-icing.
After Mogck’s presentation, it was the turn of Nicolas Karres, head of ramp services at Salzburg Airport. He asked the question: where are we heading in aircraft de-icing? Karres looked at how his Austrian airport, with its prime location for skiing, is most busy in winter, before also considering best practices for training, for both ground handlers and airlines.
Veijo Karosvuo, managing director and board member of handler Aviator Finland, then took to the stage and gave an insight into de-icing developments at Helsinki Airport. Karosvuo described the history of the Aviator group, as well as how far the company has come both in terms of ground handling and aircraft de-icing.
The conference then heard from Lars-Gunnar Nilsson, CEO at Safeaero, who considered the history and design of the one-person-operated de-icer. He recalled the idea of combining a de-icing truck with a pushback tractor, but how the idea was then dropped in favour of today’s machine, before highlighting the current unit’s stability and manoeuvrability.
Nilsson also stressed the importance of analysing and measuring statistics in order to improve operational efficiency, while expressing how the machine operator’s comfort is paramount to ensuring a safe and efficient de-icing operation.
Dieter Herman, managing director at Aerotech Consulting, provided an update on industry standards and collaboration in relation to the work of three key aviation industry bodies – the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and SAE. Herman, an IATA De-Icing/Anti-Icing Quality Control Pool (DAQCP) auditor, provided a commentary on the changes taking place now in regard to industry standards, and what we might expect to see in the future.
Next, Francis Graber, winter operations co-ordinator at Geneva Airport, explained the management of winter operations at a busy single-runway airport like Geneva’s. Graber talked about good practice initiatives such as the gateway’s snow crisis committee, plus the regular snow conference calls that keep management up to date at the airport.
The airport organises apron sweeping operations to keep the time taken as short as possible, while airport staff are on call from 1 November to 15 April as part of the gateway’s dedicated winter operations team.
Slavko Ljoljic, fluid experts manager at Austrian Airlines, went into detail to discuss the vital role that de-icing/anti-icing training plays in flight safety. Ljoljic analysed the content of the training programme that he endorses, while emphasising the importance of quality control through internal, airline and IATA audits (ie, through the DAQCP).
Juha Fieandt, regional director, Northern Europe for SureWx, a company whose mission is to improve aviation safety and optimise airport and air carrier operations, gave the audience an insight into how the industry can most accurately determine holdover times (HOT) for de-icing fluid application.
Fieandt made the valid point that industry culture and conservative thinking must give way to change and adopt new concepts if all involved are to perform better, indicating that the future will require consideration relating to greater optimisation of fluid selection, based on real-time winter weather and required HOT, as well as gel residue and fluid residue problems.
Fredrik Graflind, president of Sweden-based friction measuring equipment supplier ASFT, concluded the day’s presentations with a well-rounded look at some solutions for monitoring road and runway conditions, as well as optimising maintenance on the basis of both safety and cost. The conference heard of the latest technology implemented in the Runway Weather Information System (RWIS), as well as how sensor technology within runways is allowing the industry to be even more effective in dealing with the loss of friction at specific points of the runway.
Day two of the conference started with a moment of appreciation for conference organiser Iris Clementi from Clariant. Anders Larsen, general manager of technical sales at de-icing equipment manufacturer Vestergaard Company, then began the first presentation of the day by highlighting the new features for mobile de-icers available from Vestergaard.
Larsen spoke of the advantages that the current range of de-icers Vestergaard has to offer, as well as the data transmission service that affords customers an accurate data analysis overview – with a new dashboard feature to follow.
Tuija Hanninen, environmental specialist at Finnish airport operator Finavia, then discussed environmental permits in relation to runway and aircraft de-icing operations at Finavia’s airports. Hanninen provided a description of formate as being the de-icing fluid product least harmful for the environment, because it causes the least biological decay, whilst rarely used urea may be the most harmful for the ecosystem. Finavia has made the transition from using fewer acetates and more formates and, as a result, 16 airports have now been granted permits under the country’s environmental protection laws. Hanninen is clearly serious about tackling the issues relating to the ecological impact that glycol-contaminated water presents.
Gerd Jürgen Schmidt, an aircraft de-icing training specialist, gave a description of de-icing developments in Hamburg, while delegates also heard again from industry expert Dieter Herman on the history and background of the IATA DAQCP. Herman spoke of how the industry has made great strides in improving the way an on-airport de-icing operation is managed, starting from a time when there were no standards, sporadic airline auditing and a general lack of awareness when it came to best practices for aircraft de-icing/anti-icing. Today, the DAQCP programme boasts more than 100 member airlines, more than 120 auditors and more than 600 service providers, serving as a prime example of industry co-operation.
Attendees then heard from the former head of aviation business EMEA at Clariant, Nigel Westlake highlighted important news in relation to mandates in de-icing fluids, de-icing facilities, holdover testing, ice detection and training.
Looking back, the conference provided an excellent overview of de-icing/anti-icing operations around the world and served as an important reminder that in order for the industry to continue to improve, those involved must be prepared to adapt, implement new ways of thinking and technology, while keeping standards, best practices and training at the forefront of their thinking.
