Twin Falls Airport Flooded with Diverted Passengers

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX/AP)- Idaho wasn’t the only state hit by freezing rain on Thursday. Utah got its share of slick conditions that shut down the Salt Lake City Airport. Freezing rain and icy conditions caused a Frontier airplane to slide on the runway during landing. As a result several flights were diverted to the Twin Falls airport. Two large 150 passenger airliners could be seen at Joslin Field around mid-day. Airport Manager Bill Carberry says they started getting flights in around 10:30 Thursday morning. He says they had to deal with Ice as well but crews were able to accommodate the larger aircraft. Carberry says its rare site to see that size of aircraft in Twin Falls.

Carberry estimates there were about 300 passengers in the terminal. The extra people also kept the only restaurant at the terminal pretty busy. The Frontier Airlines plane in Salt Lake landed safely and slid on a patch of ice while turning to the taxiway. None of the 139 passengers on the flight from Denver were injured. Five flights were cancelled and 15 other planes were forced to return to their gates after the runway was closed. The airport is a hub for Delta Airlines. Seven other airlines also run flights there.