Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ryanair plane de-iced using buckets of water

The 'de-icing' took place at Brindisi airport in Italy

Cathy Adams
Monday 14 January 2019 11:53 GMT
Comments
Passenger films staff using buckets of hot water to de-ice Ryanair plane

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Aircraft often have to be de-iced before a flight during the cold winter weather – but it usually involves a special procedure.

But according to a video posted on Facebook by Italian politician Mauro D’Attis, a Ryanair aircraft at Brindisi Airport in southern Italy was instead de-iced using buckets of water.

The video shows airport ground crew walking up the stairs throwing buckets of water over the plane’s wing in an attempt to unfreeze it.

D’Attis added: “SHAME!”

The standard de-icing procedure involves the plane being sprayed with a special chemical to stop ice reforming again.

Brindisi airport operators were satisfied with the unorthodox de-icing procedure, according to The Sun, as the guidelines say “buckets of hot water at 60c are allowed when the air temperature is 0C”.

The airport operators added: “The Captain was aware and satisfied. The procedure was to remove a little residual snow. It was a perfectly safe procedure.”

It’s understood that Italy’s aviation watchdog will send inspectors to Brindisi airport to find out exactly what happened.

The Independent has contacted Ryanair for comment.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in