The right location for an ice runway depends on several variables. Ice runways require wide, expansive areas. Flat, level ground is necessary, and locations must be sited away from mountains and other land features to reduce accident risk. The flat nature of frozen lakes or frozen sea ice make these ideal locations, but the depth of the ice needs testing to ensure it can tolerate the weight of the intended aircraft. Runways built on frozen water also go through seasonal changes, so use may be restricted to colder periods.
Most ice locations receive generous coverings of snow. When building ice runways, snow needs clearing as it prevents clean landings and hides subsurface obstacles like rocks. Much of the work involved in ice runway construction involves snow removal. Snow blowers and bulldozers provide the quickest solution, but not all locations have use of such hardware. Often, clearing ice runways is done by hand, with teams of people shoveling snow off the ice. Blizzards make this work extremely time consuming as once cleared, snow layers may replenish themselves in just a few hours.
The flatness of an ice runway is essential. A plane that hits even a small boulder or lump of ice can bounce, resulting in a crash landing. Using excavators, bulldozers and rollers to flatten ice is possible in some locations, although manual removal of debris and pounding with shovels remains the only solution for remote areas without access to machinery. Ice runways are difficult to see against the bland backdrop of snow, so brightly colored paint, flares or lights provide pilots with reference points to aim at.
Ice runways require continuous maintenance to clear falling snow. Grit will turn ice slushy, making landings and takeoffs dangerous, so in contrast to road clearing, manual snow removal remains the only option. With runways situated on ice, regular checking of the frozen water's depth is important to ensure the runway remains strong enough for use.
