Snow storm having an economic impact on Denison airport - KTEN.com - No One Gets You Closer

Snow storm having an economic impact on Denison airport

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DENISON -- On what's typically a busy travel time, aircrafts at the North Texas Regional Airport were parked.

According to the tower, runways were unsafe for pilots to take off or land Wednesday, due to a stubborn half-inch thick layer of ice that despite many attempts to break, didn't want to budge.

Peter Kotsokalis is an air traffic controller at the airport and says up to 20 passenger flights were canceled or diverted.

"Conditions are dangerous, this isn't their best option," Kotsokalis said.

That means less travelers, and revenue, for businesses like the Lake Texoma Jet Center, which rents space in its hangar, performs maintenance on jets and sells fuel to pilots for $4.29 a gallon. At that rate, the business says it stands to lose out on tens of thousands of dollars in revenue.

"We sell a lot of fuel here," Kotsokalis said. "We've got local businesses that do rentals, food sales, retail, things that people would normally spend money on when they come into the area via aircraft. It's just not existent right now."

It wasn't until late Wednesday afternoon that flights resumed. The airport tells KTEN the ice on the runways finally melted allowing pilots to safely take off and land.