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'All Hands On Deck': MSP Airport Gears Up For Massive Winter Storm

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There's always a holiday hustle at Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport, but this year there's extra urgency.

As of late Tuesday night, 20 flights have been cancelled and 100 flights leading into early Wednesday.

"Changed our flight from Wednesday morning to tonight," Ron Tupy of Apple Valley said. "The storm is in Denver right now so I'm hoping we pass in the night."

Click Here To See If Your City Is Under A Snow Emergency

His son and Thanksgiving dinner are waiting.

"Looked at our choices and said it's either this or stay home and shovel snow so," Tupy said. "Good luck to us."

That's where the field maintenance crews come in — all 160 employees have been called into work.

"All hands on deck, all hands on deck even though it's a holiday," Mark Rudolph said.

Rudolph says his teams have been planning for two days, measuring ground temps, coordinating with airlines, prepping equipment instead of Thanksgiving dinner.

Click Here For Full List Of School Closings And Delays

"The timing could not be worse but this is what we train for, this is what we are ready for," Rudolph said. "They are sanding, they are plowing, they are liquid treating the runways, we are blowing the snow with our runway blowers."

He says his team will attack the snow overnight when fewer jets come through in hopes flights can get out and people can get home.

"MSP can do this. We can do this. We can handle this absolutely," Rudolph said.

MSP field crews are world-renowned. They've won awards for their efficiency. The goal is to have those workers home by Thanksgiving morning so they can have a day off before the next storm rolls in.

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