What is aircraft de-icing?
🕗 2 minutes | June 5, 2024 | Text Kamil Wrzosek
It’s a frosty winter morning. You’re seated on the plane, seatbelt fastened, as the aircraft taxies toward the runway. Suddenly, it stops on the apron, and specialized airport vehicles that resemble small cranes approach. You watch as the aircraft’s wings are sprayed with a special fluid. What exactly is aircraft de-icing? How does it work, and why is it necessary? Find out in this article!
✅ In this article, you’ll learn:
- What aircraft de-icing is.
- How the de-icing process works.
- Which parts of an aircraft are de-iced.
- What type of fluid is used for de-icing.
- Who performs aircraft de-icing.
De-icing: removing ice, snow, and frost from aircraft
Aircraft de-icing is the process of removing frost, snow, and ice from an aircraft’s surface. This procedure takes place just before takeoff at designated de-icing stations near the taxiways.
How does the aircraft de-icing process work?
✈️ Step 1: Removing frost, snow, and ice
- The aircraft is sprayed under pressure with a hot glycol-water mixture to clear any frozen accumulation.
✈️ Step 2: Preventing further icing
- To prevent re-icing (especially during heavy snowfall or freezing), the aircraft is sprayed again—this time with a cold glycol-water mixture.
After a properly conducted de-icing process, the aircraft is protected from icing for about 30 minutes.🚨 If the plane doesn’t take off within this time, de-icing must be repeated.
Which aircraft components are de-iced?
During the de-icing procedure, the following parts of the aircraft are sprayed with pressurized heated fluid:
✅ Horizontal stabilizers
✅ Wings (including flaps, slats, ailerons, and spoilers)—all critical for controlling the aircraft
✅ Fuselage, to maximize lift during takeoff
Additionally, de-icing also targets flight instruments such as pitot tubes, which measure static and dynamic air pressure to calculate airspeed.
Who performs aircraft de-icing?
De-icing is conducted by specially trained ground handling crews. Each year, before winter, these crews undergo refresher training on de-icing procedures to ensure maximum efficiency and safety.
How long does aircraft de-icing take?
The duration of the de-icing process depends on two factors:
1️⃣ Aircraft type
2️⃣ Weather conditions
- Most de-icing procedures take a few minutes.
- Larger aircraft (like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner) require more time, typically between 8 and 20 minutes, due to their large wing surface area.
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