Because of the cold weather and strong winds, a lot of passengers at Keflavik Airport had to wait for a long time last Sunday to get off their planes. When reading news such as this, a number of questions come to mind, and it is incomprehensible that there are no methods that can be used to get people off of planes when something of this nature occurs.
At Keflavik airport the other day, a wide-body jet that I was on had to wait on the airport for a significant amount of time because the stairwells leading to the exits were not ready. Because this jet operated exactly according to schedule, it appeared as though someone forgot something somewhere.
One could easily imagine that airports would have to take a number of safety precautions during snowstorms to make sure that both passengers and planes are safe. One option is to take emergency steps, like moving the plane to a safe place on the airport grounds and trying to get people off the plane in any way possible. There were reports that after a few hours on some of the planes, the toilets stopped working, there was no food available, and those with disabilities did not have access to toilets, which can cause a great deal of difficulty for them. Imagine being trapped on an airplane for 10 hours without any access to food or toilets as you wait to exit the plane.
It seems strange that Keflavik Airport doesn’t have a way to help people get out of passenger jets in these kinds of situations if a landing is made possible, or a backup plan to help people get food and water, or make sure that the toilets will work. Even though I’m not an expert on the subject and I know that Iceland’s weather can be pretty crazy, I think it’s possible to find a solution to a problem like this in today’s world of technology. However, one is able to think, and this is just a thought.
