b'30 YVR WINTER OPERATIONSVancouver Intl Turns Untimely Winter Storms Into Opportunity for Improvement BY PAUL NOLANStaff members at Vancouvergate was available. High winds and blowing International Airport (YVR) in Britishsnow prevented deployment of airstairs or Columbia refer to the experienceremote stands.almost cryptically as the Four Days inI am not going to sugar-coat it. It was December. And its as ominous as it sounds. not our finest hour. Our safety promise was A mix of snow, freezing rain, lowkept. Our customer service commitment FACTS&FIGUREStemperatures and fog arrived in waves overwas not, Vrooman stated in a letter that Project: Snow Removal Review & Action Plan four crucial holiday travel days in Decemberprefaces the 32-page report and action Location: Vancouver Intl Airport (in BC) 2022, resulting in the cancellation of 1,300plan created after an extensive review of the Catalyst: Severe storms during busy Dec. 2022flights and disrupting travel for more thantrying situation.holiday travel season 180,000 passengers.2022 Aircraft Movements: 230,162 Weve had moreLearning Opportunitysnow at the airportIf necessity is the mother of invention, it also 2022 Passenger Volume: 19 million can be said that adversity is the mother of in our history, but we Weather Factors: Combination of snow, freezinghavent had it on theeducation. In the words of self-help author rain, low temperatures & fog arriving in waves over 7busiest four days of theNapoleon Hill, Every adversity, every failure, busiest travel days of the year every heartache carries with it the seed of an Operational Impact: 1,300 of approx. 4,100 flightscalendar year, says scheduled Dec. 18-24 were cancelled; 180,000+YVR President andTAMARA VROOMAN equal or greater benefit.passengers affected Chief Executive OfficerEvery organization experiences failures Response: Comprehensive report & action plan withTamara Vrooman. The first storm hit onof some kind, Vrooman reflects. The 130 steps to improve winter & irregular operationsDec. 18, followed by even more significantquestion is not whether youre going to fail response and improve passenger communication snowfall the day after, and a third majoror not; the most important question is what Assisting Contractor: Arup (global consulting firm) weather band the morning of Dec. 23. you will do after.Snow Removal Equipment Supplier:Passengers on 24 aircraft waited moreWithin one week of the Four Days saga, veraasen than four hours on the tarmac due to a YVR leaders initiated a comprehensive Equipment Dealer: Team Eagle Ltd. lack of available gates. Passengers on oneafter-action review of the separate incidents Hold Time Calculating System: SureWxflight arriving from Hawaii were strandedthat collectively caused a less-than-stellar After-Event Survey of Passengers & Generalon the tarmac for 13 hours because noperformance. The key objective: to identify Public: Kirk & Co.March | April 2024AirportImprovement.com'