Article Text

Travelers arriving at Dulles International Airport on Monday faced an unexpected final obstacle: vehicles trapped beneath several inches of snow and ice in the economy parking lots.

Without proper shovels, some drivers used their hands, feet, floor mats and even trash can lids to free their cars while waiting for plows and tow crews.

Simmy and Leza were riding an airport bus to the blue economy lot when Simmy decided the roads did not look too bad. He expected a quick departure for Baltimore after returning from Russia—until he discovered his white Acura resembled an igloo.

With gloves and an ice scraper but no shovel, Simmy began searching for another way to clear the snow.

Two rows away, Tunde had spent about 30 minutes trying to dig out his black Acura after arriving from Istanbul, Turkey. He needed to drive home to Frederick, Maryland.

Tunde kicked through the snow and used his hands, pulling them inside his jacket for protection. He placed floor mats beneath the tires for traction and turned the top of a trash can into a makeshift shovel.

Simmy soon borrowed the same trash can lid to remove snow from beneath his own car as Leza watched.

“He’s trying at least,” she said. “He’s trying his best.”

In the green economy lot, Loreal Blue encountered a similar problem after returning from the Bahamas with a friend. She had expected better conditions but found the borrowed Chevy Trax they had parked covered by several inches of snow.

“I didn’t think the parking lot would be this bad,” Blue said. Joking about the $15 daily parking charge, she added that the airport would still expect full payment.

Blue and her friend called the assistance number posted at a bus shelter. A tow truck arrived shortly afterward and helped them escape the snow.

Plows and salt trucks continued working across the parking areas. Emmett, a worker with Top Dog Services, said roughly 100 of his colleagues had been working continuously at Dulles since Friday.

He acknowledged that returning travelers could reach their vehicles more easily than they could drive them out. Parking lots had to wait because crews had no choice but to clear airport roads first, he said.