Cheektowaga, N.Y. (WBEN) - Coming soon to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is new snow fighting equipment that's arriving courtesy of a federal allocation championed by Congressman Nick Langworthy (R, NY-23).
Langworthy said he spent nearly two years pushing for the $1.482 million federal allocation for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, with the earmarked funds being used to acquire snow melting and blowers that will help clear the airport's runways and taxi ways.
"It's Buffalo and we know we get a lot of snow, yet the airport rarely closes and planes still take off and land here," Langworthy said.
This season alone, the airport has reported more than 85 inches of snow, yet air carriers were able to land their planes.
"That's why Buffalo is the gold standard when it comes to snow fighting," Langworthy said..
On average, BNIA handles 5 million passengers annually.
Buffalo, for the past years, has hosted an annual airport snowfighting and snow removal symposium - including one coming to the region in late April.
"People study what Buffalo does," Langworthy said.
It is that reputation that help Langworthy secure the federal funds.
The Clarence congressman said the NFTA allocation may not be the most headline grabbing local victory but it does matter.
"If a businessman gets stranded in Buffalo because of snow, it doesn't reflect well on us," Langworthy said. "But, if they don't, it sends a different message."