Airports operate some of the most complex transportation ecosystems in the world—and winter storms can disrupt nearly every operational system simultaneously.
In early 2026, severe ice storms disrupted airports across the country, causing 11,000 cancellations in a single day in January and another 4,000 in March. These events created major hub disruptions in Atlanta, Chicago, and New York. The Federal Aviation Administration issued ground stops and delays. Freezing rain caused bottlenecks in de-icing operations, unsafe conditions for ground crews, and gate congestion for arriving and departing aircraft.
Vis/ability from Activu enables airports to maintain a real-time common operating picture across the entire airport ecosystem—keeping functions separate and secure while keeping operations connected.
During severe winter weather, the ability to quickly understand the full operational picture can make the difference between controlled operations and widespread disruption.
The 2026 ice storms caused 11,000 flight cancellations in a single day in January alone.
Airport Operations During Ice Storms
An ice storm affects far more than aircraft departures and arrivals. It impacts every aspect of an airport, including:
- Aircraft movement and de-icing operations
- Runway and taxiway safety
- Passenger processing and terminal operations
- Ground transportation and parking systems
- Baggage handling systems
- Security operations
- Airline coordination
During severe winter weather, airport operators rely on dozens of operational platforms to keep people and aircraft safe. When these systems are siloed, situational awareness suffers and response times slow. That’s the problem vis/ability solves.
Key Operational Platforms Used by Airports During Winter Weather
Airport Operations Management Systems
- Amadeus IT Group
- SITA
- ADB SAFEGATE
Surface Movement & Airfield Monitoring
- Saab Aerobahn
- Thales TopSky
- Indra Sistemas
De-Icing & Winter Operations Management
- AV D-ICE
- Deicing Manager
- Symphony DeiceVue
Airport Video Management & Surveillance
- Genetec
- Milestone Systems
Weather Monitoring & Aviation Intelligence
- National Weather Service
- AWOS/ASOS
- DTN
Ground Transportation & Passenger Flow Monitoring
- Waze
- Google Maps
Baggage Handling & Terminal Operations Systems
- Siemens Logistics
Unifies all airport operational systems into a single real-time common operating picture—enabling airport leadership to coordinate response across departments, share data with airlines and emergency services, and maintain resilience during severe winter weather.
The Future of Airports: Integrated Operations Centers (IOC) Powered by vis/ability
Many airports are now moving toward Integrated Operations Centers (IOC), where data from multiple operational systems is unified into a single control room environment. By integrating flight operations systems, transportation data, weather intelligence, and security systems, vis/ability from Activu enables airports to maintain a real-time common operating picture while keeping functions separate and secure. This integrated view allows airport leadership to:
- Coordinate response across departments
- Share information with airlines and emergency services
- Respond faster to operational disruptions
- Improve passenger safety and operational resilience
Ready to Modernize Your Airport’s Control Room?
Contact us or request a demo to see how vis/ability from Activu delivers next-generation situational awareness and operational resilience for airport operations.
Coordinated.
Connected.
In Control.
That’s the future of airport operations centers.
Case Studies
- Safely & Efficiently Delivering More than Half-a-Billion People to Their Destinations, Every Year.
A regional transit agency with the third largest urban bus ridership in the world chose to stay ahead through careful capital improvements that included the bus command-and-control operations. Approximately 700 million riders depend on this agency’s buses every year, managed in a command center running vis/ability from Activu. - Building “The Best Airport in the World”
One of the largest airports in North America set out the ambitious goal to become “the best airport in the world” and “THE entry point on the [North American] continent.” - Enabling the Largest State-Wide Transit Agency in the U.S. to Manage over 1 Billion Miles of Passenger Travel Per Year
NJ Transit chose Activu to help them monitor critical operations and infrastructure and improve incident response and decision-making. - Helping Florida Department of Transportation manage over 600 million miles of daily road travel
Florida DOT chose Activu to help them achieve their operational goals. - Improving Global Maritime Situational Awareness, Digitally
To better serve their customers spread across 116 countries, the world’s largest container-shipping company, and Fortune 500 member, is undergoing a digital transformation in every part of their business, including how they manage critical customer events.