With the arrival of winter and the winter conditions flying we must write a few sentences about the de-icing of aircraft and introduce you to the details of these processes.

Each time your Avio broker sends you an offer, Invoice or contract there always stands one sentence "de-icing not included" - what does that mean? It is a potential additional cost to the client during the winter months, and refers to the cost to be paid to the airport for special services that include cleaning snow and ice from aircraft before takeoff.

Why is the de-icing and snow removal so important? Aircraft wings, tail and wings on the tail are designed with a specific shape to ensure proper lift to raise the aircraft in the air and just fly. Any change in that shape can lead to compromising the aerodynamic properties of an airplane and compromise taking off.

Deicing is done on the wings and tail, but also process deices the nose, where is the radar equipment, sensors and so on. For defrosting the most commonly used liquid is heated mixture of propylene glycol and water. The mixture is sprayed, heated to 65-80 ° C, under high pressure in order to successfully remove all the ice.

What can be the cost? The cost can range from a few hundred euros to several thousand euros, depending on the type of fluid used, the time required for de-icing, which in turn depends on external conditions and the size of aircraft. When severe weather conditions after defrosting, and in case of delays in take-off, it is possible that again arises need for aircraft deicing, because the plane is ready to fly only a certain amount of time before new layers of snow and ice create on aircraft.

The pilot or airline pay to the airport all costs incurred, the clients agree and are informed that after their flight the same amount will be extra charged.