The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) plans to weather the nation's runway de-icer shortage with a mix of old stock and potentially pricey chemical swaps, but does not expect flight delays as a result, officials said Friday.
A three-month strike by Canadian potash miners has left U.S. airports with a critical chemical de-icer shortage that is expected to thwart some runway cleanup efforts in the snowy months ahead.
The potassium chemical is mainly used to de-ice runways. A different chemical is used to de-ice aircraft, and it hasn't been affected by the strike. The Federal Aviation Administration recently told U.S. airlines that some runways may not be maintained to the same extent as in past years because of the de-icer shortage.
While the strike has ended, it will take time to restart mining, manufacturing and distribution activities to replenish stores of the potash derivative, potassium acetate, at U.S. airports.
"We have enough for the first few snowstorms, but there won't be enough to last us until February, when we anticipate being able to get [more] supplies of potassium acetate. That is the product that we normally use to de-ice the runways," MAC spokesman Patrick Hogan said. "We usually use 250,000 gallons of potassium acetate in a given year. I don't know how many gallons we have on hand, but it's nowhere near that amount. We will run out."
But the MAC, which runs Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, said it does not expect flight delays. It will exhaust its current de-icer supplies, then turn to alternatives. The airport authority can use a urea-based chemical, which is effective and costs the same as potassium acetate, but it is harmful to the environment. Or it can use a newly introduced but expensive test chemical, Hogan said.
Potassium acetate costs about $3.50 a gallon. The new chemical, which still must be tested for effectiveness, costs about twice as much. The effect on the MAC budget depends on how much snow falls.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
