Monsoon poses special challenge for airport operations

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - Even the smallest piece of debris can cause big problems for these airplanes, and that is why airport operations at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport have to really step up their game, whenever we have strong monsoon storms.

For Abel Alvarez, he has an important job at te airport.

"The main aspect of our job is the safety of the airport," said Alvarez.

Alvarez and his team scour the taxiways, runways and ramps to make sure there is no debris.

"Everything blows off the airport and onto the airport," said Alvarez. "Palm fronds, any type of foreign object debris, rocks."

Alvarez's job was even more difficult this time of the year, with strong, unpredictable monsoon storms rolling through, blowing even more garbage onto the airport grounds.

Part of Alvarez's job is also to make sure cargo container bins are locked and secured in the storms, as any small piece of debris could cause delays or even a safety risk for passengers.

That is why they take this job so seriously.

"We're just trying to make sure everything is safe for them to land and take off from here," said Alvarez.

The airport itself is about 3,000 acres, so they have multiple teams out at any given time checking for garbage or foreign object debris, or FOD.