Aircraft deicing management that gets every aircraft to its runway inside its holdover time
No aircraft takes off past its holdover time, and every gallon sprayed is billed.
See one case, screen by screen ↓Aircraft Deicing Management is deicing management software for airlines that sequences the de-icing pads, checks every aircraft's holdover time against the FAA tables in force and logs fluid per tail. Eight agents watch the snow, run and recompute every holdover clock, propose swaps and re-treatments, check each other and bill every gallon, while the de-icing coordinator asks why, approves and signs.
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Deicing management at a hub comes down to one clock per aircraft. From the start of the final fluid step, the holdover time from the FAA tables says how long the fluid protects in this snow at this temperature, and if the aircraft is not airborne inside it, it needs an outside check or a second spray. Today the de-icing coordinator in Pad Control runs three pads by radio, a whiteboard and a paper holdover chart, often in call order — while the departure queue, the runway in use and the snowfall that set the clock live somewhere else, and the clock itself is kept by the crew.
When the snow gets heavier, a new, lower holdover applies to every aircraft already on the clock, and nobody recomputes seven clocks by radio. An aircraft sprayed at the wrong pad runs out before the runway and comes back for fluid, a second load, a delay. Afterwards, truck tickets reach billing days later, untagged sessions and re-treatments are argued with partner airlines, and the glycol totals for the airport's stormwater report come from the same paper.
Estimated split of staff hours for one storm morning at a three-pad hub, by hand and with the solution.
Eight agents watch the snow, run every holdover clock, re-sequence the pads, check each other and log every gallon; a de-icing coordinator approves.
Wednesday, December 16, 2026, at Corvane Airways' Chicago hub. Snow since 04:50, moderate since 05:35, −4 °C, departures on 22L and 28R, three pads and seven trucks. Here is how the de-icing coordinator works with the agents, approves and sees the evidence — in the working solution.
Dana's morning screen shows 18 aircraft on the pads, queued or taxiing, 5 decisions waiting with 1 safety-critical, 0 takeoffs past holdover today, and 8,426 gallons of Type I and 2,403 of Type IV sprayed since 04:50. The lead comes from the Holdover agent: CV 302 would reach runway 22L 3 minutes after its fluid runs out. Below it, what the agents did in the last six minutes, each step on the audit trail.
“CV 302 would reach runway 22L 3 minutes after its fluid runs out.”
Each pad is a lane — the queue, the pad, the taxi on the clock, the runway — and every aircraft carries its fluid, a holdover ring and a wheels-up bar. Above them, the table in force: Type IV, moderate snow, −3 to −14 °C, 30–52 minutes, narrowed by the sensor at 18 g/dm²/h to 38. On Pad 3, CV 302's Type IV would start at 06:18 and protect to 06:56; from Pad 3 the taxi to 22L is forecast at 41 minutes, wheels-up 06:59. Its tag glows: −3 min.
“N403CV will exceed holdover before reaching 22L.”
The Pad Sequencing agent proposes swapping CV 302 ahead of N227CV: Pad 2 at 06:08, Type IV at 06:12, protected to 06:50, wheels-up on 22L 06:36 — 14 minutes inside; N227CV goes to Pad 3 for 28R with 17 minutes inside. No aircraft waits more than 2 minutes and no truck changes pads. “Show the agents' work” lists every step it read. The Safety Check agent re-checks margins, Type IV lowest use temperature (−29 °C against −4 °C), two-step timing and the pre-takeoff contamination check — and agrees.
Safety Check agent: “I did not read the Pad Sequencing agent's reasoning, only its proposal.”
Dana asks the obvious question: “Why not keep it on Pad 3 for 28R?” The agent gives two reasons, each cited — the tower has put east departures on 22L since 05:40, so 28R for LaGuardia needs its agreement and adds about 9 minutes airborne; and Pad 3 to 22L is 41 minutes today because it crosses both arrival runways and joins a queue of 14, while Pad 2 sits at the end of 22L at 24 minutes.
“The swap costs N227CV 1 minute and gives it 6 more minutes of margin.”
The approval names what she is approving and why: S1 · Keeps holdover margin, S2 · Matches the runway in use or A1 · Approved as proposed, a note for the record, and her signature — “I approve P-0612 as Dana Whitfield, De-icing Coordinator.” She could edit or reject instead, with a reason. Nothing moves until she signs; then the lanes redraw with CV 302 on Pad 2.
Truck 5 sprays CV 302 on Pad 2: Type I 55/45 at 82 °C, 212 gallons, then Type IV 100%, 61 gallons from 06:12. The anti-icing code comes from the truck record — TYPE IV/100/0612/POST DEICING CHECK COMPLETE — and the Crew Briefing agent drafts the ACARS message for Capt. Alan Mercer. Because this briefing follows a swap, it waits for Dana; she approves and sends, and the crew acknowledges at 06:17.
“If you are not rolling by 06:45, call Pad Control on 131.62 for an outside check or a return to Pad 2.”
A SPECI reports heavier snow at 1/2 mile, the sensor reads 22 g/dm²/h, and KC 4410 is held 12 minutes for a late load sheet. The Holdover agent recomputes 7 clocks to the lower holdover; new sprays get 34 minutes. Only N611KC now runs out before the runway: protected to 06:35, wheels-up 06:36. The proposal: re-treat on Pad 1 bay B at 06:27 with truck 16, Type IV at 06:31, protected to 07:05, wheels-up on 28R 06:50 — 15 minutes inside. Dana approves with S3 · Re-treat before expiry.
“The alternative, an outside check at the runway, leaves 1 minute and is not worth the risk.”
On Dana's approval the crew of KC 4410 is told to return to Pad 1, dispatch is told of 6 more minutes of taxi fuel, and CV 302 gets its new window, 06:48. The crew completes the pre-takeoff contamination check at 06:34 and is airborne from 22L at 06:37. The aircraft's de-icing record holds the whole timeline — call, swap, both steps, briefing, acknowledgment, recompute, check, airborne — with the holdover calculation and every source.
“CV 302 airborne at 06:37 from 22L, 11 minutes before its protection ended.”
By 06:37 the fluid log shows 54 aircraft treated, 10,752 gallons of Type I and 3,126 of Type IV, and 2,982 gallons to bill to partner airlines. Two sessions need a person: truck 9's untagged session matched to Brightwater Cargo's N378BW at 96% — under the 98% line — and Kestrel Connect's N624KC, treated twice. The agent never edits a meter reading.
“A blank entry keeps it under the 98% line, so a person confirms it; I never edit a meter reading.”
The Billing agent prices partner de-icing from each ground handling agreement and ties every line to its truck meter readings: Kestrel Connect, 63 applications and 9,296 gallons, $113,619.80; Brightwater Cargo, 14 applications, $82,061.00; Larkspur Air, 35 applications billed intercompany at cost, $58,881.90. N624KC's second application is charged under the agreement's re-treatment clause. Nothing is sent until the Billing Analyst approves.
The same snowy morning, seen by five of the people who carry it — what a storm looked like, and what it looks like now.
Eight agents watch the snow, run every holdover clock, re-sequence the pads, check each other and log every gallon; a de-icing coordinator approves.
Reads the holdover sensor, METAR and SPECI, the ATIS and runway configuration, airport notices and surface positions every minute and on every report, and tells the Holdover and Pad Sequencing agents what changed.
Applies the table in force and the sensor's single value for each fluid, runs a clock for every aircraft from the start of its final step, and recomputes every clock on every change.
Forecasts the time from the last step to wheels-up for each pad and runway, orders the pads so every aircraft keeps the minimum margin, and proposes the smallest swap, pad change, gate hold or re-treatment that does.
Re-checks every proposal on its own: the holdover table, the 10-minute minimum margin, the fluid's lowest use temperature, two-step timing, the pre-takeoff contamination check and pad and truck availability.
Turns the anti-icing code and the holdover into plain words for the flight crew — fluid, start time, how long it protects, forecast wheels-up and what to do if late — sends by ACARS and tracks the acknowledgment; tells dispatch of a re-treatment.
Ties every truck session — fluid, mix, temperature, gallons, start and stop — to its tail, matches untagged sessions by surface position and time with a confidence, and flags volumes outside ±40% of the type's typical.
Prices partner de-icing from each ground handling agreement — per gallon, per application and re-treatment terms — and drafts the period's invoice with the meter evidence on every line.
Writes the daily and season review from the record — exceedances, re-treatments, delay, fluid per departure, billing and glycol against last winter — and proposes lessons with their evidence.
Approves every swap and re-treatment; the program manager owns the tables and rules. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Ask the agents beside the pads or on any screen — or tell them what you know, such as “hold N520CV 5 minutes”. Every answer points to its source.
How much Type IV is left at Pad 2?
Truck 5: 1,140 gal of Type IV (61%); truck 7: 1,190 gal (64%). At this morning's rate Pad 2 needs a refill at about 07:40; the tank farm has 18,600 gal of Type IV.
Why is N378BW only 96%?
Only N378BW was in bay B while truck 9 sprayed, and the truck's GPS agrees, but the truck's tail entry was blank. A blank entry keeps it under the 98% line, so a person confirms it; I never edit a meter reading.
Why did re-treatments fall from 61 to 14?
Because the agents now re-treat before the protection runs out, not after a crew finds it at the runway: all 14 this season were proposed with at least 5 minutes left, and 171 swaps put aircraft on the pad nearest their runway.
How much partner fluid went unbilled last winter?
$156,600: $1,371,400 metered against $1,214,800 invoiced, 11.4%. This season every metered gallon is on an invoice or waiting for a named decision.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
The thresholds and rules every proposal is checked against are settings. Changing a threshold is a proposal the program manager approves, and every change is on the audit trail.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum margin at forecast wheels-up | 10 minutes | Minutes; a change needs the program manager |
| Gate hold without the Station Operations Controller | Up to 10 minutes | Minutes; longer holds need the controller's approval |
| Fluid anomaly against the type's typical volume | ±40% | Percent; flagged sessions go to a person |
| Auto-match an untagged truck session at | 98% confidence | Percent; below it, a person confirms the match |
| Holdover table | Winter 2026–2027 · Notice N 8900.784 · 14 fluids | Only the table in force for the season and the fluid |
| Type IV use | Above its lowest use temperature, with a 7 °C buffer | Rule, applied by the Safety Check agent |
| Two-step and the pre-takeoff check | Second step within 3 minutes; check within 5 minutes of takeoff | Rules, applied to every proposal |
| No crew acknowledgment | After 3 minutes, a radio call from Pad Control | On or off per notification |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample data (last winter's figures are the fictional baseline shown on its season review) · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate. Regulations named: 14 CFR 121.629; FAA Notice N 8900.784 (August 3, 2026) and the Winter 2026–2027 holdover time guidelines; EPA 40 CFR Part 449. Holdover values on screen are illustrative; the live solution loads the published table for each approved fluid. Corvane Airways, its partners and the people, aircraft, flights, trucks and agreements named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
Aircraft Deicing Management is deicing management software for airlines that sequences the de-icing pads, checks every aircraft's holdover time against the FAA tables in force and logs fluid per tail. Eight agents watch the snow, run and recompute every holdover clock, propose swaps and re-treatments, check each other and bill every gallon, while the de-icing coordinator asks why, approves and signs.
The Holdover agent takes the fluid, its concentration and the start of the final step from the truck record and applies the season's FAA holdover time tables for that fluid, the outside air temperature and the precipitation, narrowed by the holdover sensor to a single value. In the demo, Type IV anti-icing fluid in moderate snow at −4 °C gives 30–52 minutes in the table and 38 minutes at 18 g/dm²/h. The calculator on the holdover screen lets the program manager check the arithmetic.
The agents work to stop that happening: each clock is set against the forecast wheels-up before the spray, and when weather worsens every clock is recomputed to the lower value. An aircraft that would run out is proposed for a swap, a gate hold or a re-treatment before expiry; the alternative of an outside check is shown with its margin. No proposal may plan a takeoff past the holdover.
It runs on your program's rules. Under 14 CFR 121.629 the program manager loads the season's holdover tables — Winter 2026–2027 under FAA Notice N 8900.784 — sets the minimum margin and approvers, and replays a past storm before go-live. The agents apply only the table in force, and every decision is on a chained audit trail for an inspector's question.
The Fluid Log agent ties every truck session to its tail from the meter, and the Billing agent prices it from the partner's ground handling agreement — per gallon, per application and re-treatment terms — with the meter reading on every line. Matches under 98% confidence and second treatments go to a person, and nothing is sent until the Billing Analyst approves.
Yes. Airports answer for deicing runoff through their stormwater permits, under EPA's airport deicing rule (40 CFR Part 449). The glycol report totals Type I and Type IV gallons by pad and at the gate from the same meter record, each off-pad event carries its reason, and the Environmental Compliance Manager explains any left and signs before the report goes to the airport.
Yes. The agents never move an aircraft or a truck, never extend a holdover and never tell a crew it may take off. The de-icing coordinator approves every swap, re-treatment and non-routine briefing with a reason code and e-signature, the Station Operations Controller co-approves gate holds over 10 minutes, and safety-critical proposals are never approved in bulk.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your ground deicing program, holdover tables, pads, trucks and partner agreements — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. Setup ends with a replay of a past storm, run without sending anything and compared with what Pad Control decided that day.
Turns leave on time: a slipping task is caught early, with a fix the controller approves.
1-min demoGround Handling Invoice ReconciliationEvery handler line tied to its turn, its rate and its approval before a dollar is paid.
1-min demoGround Handling SLA ManagementPenalties collected, not waived: every SLA line backed by the flights behind it.
1-min demoWe'll run Aircraft Deicing Management on a replay of one of your own storms, with your holdover tables and pads.