Why don’t aeroplanes have winter tyres? Simply explained

Have you ever wondered why aeroplanes don’t have winter tyres? Yes? You’re in luck: so are we – and we’ve also researched the answer to the question for you.

Aircraft and winter tyres: Why they don’t go together

As a car driver, you have to put on winter tyres when it’s icy and snowy. But what about aircraft?

• Special tyres for ice and snow provide more safety for the vehicle. That’s something you should also think about when it comes to aeroplanes. After all, aeroplanes also take off and land in winter, and even when it snows.

• Winter tyres for aircraft, however, do not exist. The reason is simple: with winter tyres, planes would not reach the speed necessary for safe take-off.

• So, since winter tyres for planes are not possible, thorough work has to be done on the other side: The runway must always be free of ice and snow.

• To do this, the runway must be cleared with special clearing vehicles – the shovels of these vehicles are an impressive six metres wide, by the way.

• And what about smaller aircraft that have to load directly onto snow and ice in Alaska or other places? Again, the solution to the puzzle is quite simple: these planes have skids that allow you to glide across the runways.