Fog brings Redmond Airport travel concerns

The fog that many Central Oregonians woke up to Wednesday had many air travelers worried about whether they would make it to their destinations on time.

“We typically get fog during the winter, so the air carriers are the ones that make decisions on whether they cancel the flights or not.” said Nicole Jurgensen, airport security manager.

The problem with this kind of fog is it ebbs and flows, leaving only pockets of opportunities for pilots to land.

Also, there’s a big difference between arrivals and departures. Cancellations may happen more often with arrivals, due to low visibility and high volumes of fog. But departures may be delayed if the aircraft needs to be de-iced.

“If that aircraft picks up some contamination on the way in on their landing, or if it’s actually snowing or dropping contamination onto the aircraft, that’s when the air carrier will make the decision to de-ice before they leave here,” Jurgensen said.

So with several days of fog and freezing fog in the forecast, staying in the know will be crucial.

Keep in touch with your airline for the latest flight information. You also check the flight status at Roberts Field on this Web page.