27 November 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)- Travelers faced slowdowns Sunday following the Saturday afternoon shutdown of Wichita’s Eisenhower airport runways last night because of snow.
A snowstorm that brought nearly 8 inches of fresh powder into Wichita Saturday. Crews clearing snow couldn’t keep up with the downpour, causing delays and frustration for travelers
What should have been a quick 3 p.m. flight became a day-long ordeal for Joseph Mumaw.
He was supposed to be home in Phoenix, Arizona Saturday night after spending the Thanksgiving holiday in Wichita with his wife and in-laws.
When he was on the plane, the airport closed for several hours. The aircraft never took off.
“So we got off the plane and sat around in the waiting area for about an hour and a half, two hours,” Mumaw said. “Then they said actually we’re closing down for the night.”
The late afternoon closure was caused by snow coming down on runways, creating unsafe conditions for landing.
Airport snow crews were already understaffed by 50 percent and unable to keep up, according to Bradley Christopher, Wichita Airport Authority Assistant Director of Airports
“We were brooming those runways, we were shooting with anti-ice and chemical, and then we were brooming them and that pavement was just very lightly re-freezing again,” Christopher said.
In the meantime, Mumaw got a hotel and was supposed to leave Sunday morning on an 11 a.m. flight to Phoenix, but it got pushed to the late afternoon because of mechanical problems.
“It’s just kind of this uncertainty to what is actually the problem, and frankly, I just want to get home,” Mumaw said.
Christopher says the big goal now is to sweep up as much water from the runways as possible before it freezes overnight, creating icy conditions.