People flying in and out of Sun Valley have had a difficult time this winter with flights regularly being diverted or canceled due to winter weather conditions.
The chairman of the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority, Ron Fairfax, calls this winter the worst he’s seen in 20 years.
Data from the airport shows 30 flights were diverted between December 4 and December 26. Just two flights were canceled.
The Idaho Mountain Express reports that despite diversions to Twin Falls or Boise, more planes are actually landing at the airport this season than in years past due to new navigation protocols allowing for instrument landings. A specialist at Alaska Airlines – the parent company of Horizon Air – says 80 percent of Horizon flights are landing at Friedman this winter. Before the new protocols were put in place, 65 percent touched down in the Wood River Valley.
Fairfax says the new navigation system is helping with keeping flights coming into the airport, but he says the weather is making it a consistent challenge.
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