Oslo Plays it Cool

This article describes how the Oslo Gardermoen Airport (OSL) achieved a punctuality rate of 80% despite having a total of 1.58 meters of snow during the winter of 2010. Efficient and productive snow clearing techniques are essential for the smooth operation of Norway’s main airport. Because of its continental climate, OSL receives more than its fair share of snow, freezing fog and drizzling rain. But despite these meteorological challenges, the airport has always had good punctuality figures. This is primarily due to the excellent routines for dealing with the winter weather. Since the airport opened, it has only been closed twice because of snow – on February 1, 2008 and February 7, 2009. And on both occasions, the closure only lasted a few hours. Those responsible for winter operations have also taken steps to allow other divisions at the airport insight into what they do. For example, each winter, staff from other areas and departments have been invited to come along for a ride on a snowplow to learn about the work done at this airport.