Balchen/Post Award 

Outstanding Achievement in Airport Snow and Ice Control

At the 58th Annual International Aviation Snow Symposium on April 27th 2026 in Buffalo, NY; awards were presented to the “Snow Crews” of the airports in North America and military bases worldwide for their dedicated efforts in maintaining their airports in safe and operational status during the 2025-26 winter season. This is the 50th consecutive year that such awards are presented. All categories of airports – Commercial, General Aviation and Military - compete for these awards.

Applications are submitted by the airport operators on behalf of the local work force in recognition of their efforts in keeping the airports operationally safe at all times. Recommendations for selection may come from the users of airports, airlines, pilots, general aviation, the military and the entire aviation community. In addition, the members of the Awards Selection Committee provide feedback from their own organizations as to the performance of competing airports.

 

The 2025 – 2026 awards were presented to the following airports:

Large Commercial

Winner:

Boston Logan International Airport - Boston, Massachusetts

Honorable Mention:

Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport - St. Paul, Minnesota


Medium Commercial

Winner:

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport - Erlanger, Kentucky

Honorable Mention:

Pittsburgh International Airport - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


Small Commercial Tier I

Winner Tier I:

Erie International Airport/Tom Ridge Field - Erie, Pennsylvania

Honorable Mention Tier I:

Worcester Regional Airport - Worcester, Massachusetts

Small Commercial Tier II

Winner Tier II:

Gerald R. Ford International Airport - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Honorable Mention Tier II:

Buffalo Niagara International Airport - Buffalo, New York

Large General Aviation

Winner:

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport-  Broomfield, Colorado

Honorable Mention:

Laurence G. Hanscom Field - Bedford, Massachusetts


Medium General Aviation

Winner:

Allegheny County Airport-  West Mifflin, Pennsylvania

Honorable Mention:

Willow Run Airport - Ypsilanti, Michigan


Small General Aviation

Winner:

Gary Chicago International Airport-  Gary, Indiana

Honorable Mention:

Waukesha County Airport - Waukesha, Wisconsin

Military Airport

Winner:

35th Civil Engineer Squadron - Misawa Air Base, Japan, PACAF 

Honorable Mention: 

509th Civil Engineer Squadron - Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, AFGSC