The Chicago Dept. of Aviation unveiled an 835,000-sq-ft centralized deicing facility on the west side of O’Hare International Airport in February.
The deicing pad can accommodate 20 narrow-body planes or five wide-body ones at a time. A four-story tower operated by airline personnel coordinates which chemical-shooting trucks deice which planes and will manage lines during icy and snowy days. The facility benefits from the new common taxiway system at O’Hare that allows for easier travel for taxiing planes to the deicing pad and to the runways.