TRAVERSE CITY -- A winter storm forced most flights at Cherry Capital Airport to be canceled from Sunday afternoon through Monday mid-afternoon, as crews worked around the clock to keep runways clear, airport CEO Kevin Klein said.
Klein said airlines began reaching out to passengers late last week as the storm’s potential became clear, helping many travelers rebook before arriving at the airport. He said fewer than a dozen passengers showed up in person during the disruption.
“They solve about 95 to almost 98% of communication with their passengers prior to even arriving at the airport,” Klein said.
The airport has been plowing continuously since the storm began on Saturday. Klein said the effort involves large snow blowers to clear drifts, multi-purpose plows equipped with 24-foot blades and trailing sweepers, and a sand-chemical mix to break up ice. The goal is to clear runways down to what the airport considers “no worse than wet.”
Shifting winds between the northeast and north created additional challenges with drifting snow, Klein said.
The airport and airlines divide responsibilities during weather events. The airport handles airfield maintenance, while the airlines make independent decisions on whether to fly based on their own schedules, crew availability, and safety assessments. Klein noted that Chicago and Detroit, major hubs for Cherry Capital flights, were also affected by the same storm, further complicating departure and arrival schedules.
Unlike road departments, Cherry Capital Airport does not use salt on its airfield because of its corrosive effect on aircraft. Instead, it relies on sand, potassium acetate, and sodium formate. Klein said supplies are in good shape and expected to hold through the rest of winter.
Flights that had been expected to resume by Monday evening did not get off the ground, and crews were still working to clear runways as of Monday night. Overnight flights remain scheduled in hopes of supporting a return to normal operations by Tuesday morning.
Klein urged all passengers to provide their current cell phone numbers and email addresses to their airlines to receive cancellation and delay notifications. Travelers can also visit TVCAirport.com for the latest flight information.
“Once this lifts, we’ll be back at it and getting those flights operating as normal as possible,” Klein said.