Crews clear runways at Mid-Continent Airport

(WICHITA, Kan) — At Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport, snow plows are used to clear the snow, but they also use giant brooms that spin on a truck where the plow would typically be. Airport officials say the brooms work because they can get closer to the pavement than a plow can, without damaging the in-ground lighting.

Crews have been working around the clock to keep up with the snow. Each driver does about three hours of windshield time before getting a break. The runways and taxi-ways are, of course, the first priority. The snow is pushed aside, and then a second truck comes along to clear the large piles that accumulate. One runway is open at a time, while the other is closed to be cleared.

Another interesting fact about snow removal at the airport one of the yellow trucks. The one labeled with the number 20 is called "Snow Boss". The driver is in charge of coordinating all the crews, and managing the clearing of 12 million square yards of pavement at the airport.

Officials say there are flight cancellations to Chicago, Memphis, Dallas and Houston.