Anchorage storm causes cargo delays

A sweeping snowstorm hit Alaska last week, causing severe delays and congestion at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and affecting several major cargo carriers. Authorities declared a state of emergency Nov. 9 after 9 inches of snow fell within 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service . [caption id="attachment_67567" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo: Alaska Airlines[/caption] Conditions in the region caused major backups at ANC, highlighting the need for improved cargo infrastructure, NorthLink Aviation Chief Executive Sean Dolan told Air Cargo Next . At least five B747s were diverted to Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) and 11 freighters were parked on ANC taxiways for hours, Dolan said. “In my opinion, the situation last week highlighted why ANC desperately needs more cargo infrastructure,” he said. “Furthermore, the airport needs better infrastructure. The airport’s hardstands don’t have overhead lighting, which makes de-icing the planes more difficult when it is dark and snowing.” The snowfall was unusually heavy and wet, Dolan said, adding to delays. One Singapore Airlines flight sat for 14 hours on the taxiway before being cleared for takeoff, data from Flight Aware shows. “We had some cancellations in ANC due to weather at other airports,” a spokesperson for Alaska Airlines told Air Cargo Next . “For us, it was normal winter operations. The heavy cargo carriers might have been impacted more greatly with de-icing procedures.” Due to the frequency of winter storms in Alaska, ANC does not close unless there is a major disruption, like an earthquake, Dolan said. It is unclear how much cargo tonnage was delayed during the storm. Neither FedEx nor ANC responded to requests from Air Cargo Next for comment. “ANC has been operating on the ragged edge of capacity for some time and it doesn’t take too much to really disrupt operations,” Dolan said. “ANC is amazing, and the snow removal team is literally the best in the world. However, there is only so much the airport can do with the current infrastructure that is available.” NorthLink infrastructure projects at ANC NorthLink Aviation has been working with cargo community systems provider Kale Logistics to create more digital infrastructure at ANC over the past year. The digital infrastructure is scheduled to be operational in 2024. By 2022 tonnage, ANC was the fourth-busiest cargo airport in the world, Megan Peters , communications coordinator at ANC, previously told Air Cargo Next . She said that the 3.5 million tonnes of cargo that came through ANC in 2022 “was a little down from the year before, but cargo at other airports saw larger drops than ANC did.” Taking this into account, NorthLink will add warehousing and additional parking on 120 acres on ANC’s south park campus, Dolan previously told Air Cargo Next . “We’re building brand new infrastructure, to be able to really do three things,” Dolan said at the time. “One, to just provide the physical infrastructure to accommodate the planes. No. 2, we want to keep de-icing fluid out of neighboring water bodies. And then No. 3, we want to use our terminal to be able to connect e-commerce goods and express freight faster and provide more solutions in terms of how you get packages onto people’s doorsteps.”

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