Columbus airport, AAA, ODOT prepare for winter weather ahead of holiday travel increase

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Thursday and Friday before Christmas are expected to be the busiest travel days this holiday season.

But how could potential weather change your plans?

“Once that weather hits, we’re ready to activate our snow and ice removal teams to keep the runways clear of snow and ice,” Sarah McQuaide with the Columbus Regional Airport Authority said.

With more than 180,000 passengers scheduled to lift off (a 3% increase in last year’s numbers), McQuaide says John Glenn Columbus International Airport is watching Old Man Winter closely. It suggests to stay alert with your airline, as well as the weather, through apps and online to check for delays and cancellations.

McQuaide says for domestic flights travelers should arrive at least 90 minutes before boarding and should arrive two hours ahead of boarding for international flights. She also suggests to download the airline’s mobile app, which can give you real-time flight status updates for any flight changes.

“And the winter weather is really going to impact people on the roadways,” Kimberly Schwind said.

Schwind, with AAA, says 113 million Americans, including 4.6 million Buckeyes, are expected to hit the roads from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2.

“This is the third busiest year-end holiday travel period, nationally, and the second busiest in Ohio,” she said. “So, just behind those 2019 record levels.”

She says AAA expects to come to the rescue of 900,000 Americans over the holiday break, but with incoming weather she knows that number will likely go up.

“People really need to keep that in mind and maybe make alternate plans if they can to avoid having to drive during the worst of that winter weather,” she said.

As for road preps, Matt Bruning with ODOT says 1,600 plow trucks are already out.

“We stand ready to go,” he said. “We’ve got more than 753,000 tons of salt on-hand, ready to go this winter.”

Bruning encourages drivers to go to OHGO.com where you can monitor more than 1,000 live traffic cameras, which allows you to check-in on road conditions.

“It may take longer to get the job done,” Bruning said.

Bruning says ODOT is not at staffing levels like years past, but it still has enough workers to handle the 43,000 lane miles in Ohio it takes care of. Other issues, he says, are freezing, refreezing and keeping constant measures through salt and different combinations of mixtures to help battle that icy build-up.

“I can tell you as we stand here right now even with all of our crews out ahead of the storm, during the storm, roads are going to be snow covered,” he said. “It’s going to be hazardous. It’s going to be slick. You will not be driving the speed limit on our highways.”

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