Howard Dean not pleased with de-icing at DIA during snowstorm, but thanks United crews

DENVER – Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean was among those not happy to be stuck on the tarmac at the Denver International Airport Thursday evening as a snowstorm moved through.

Dean, who is also the former Democratic National Committee Chair and ran for president in 2004, tweeted that he was stuck at the airport for five hours as crews worked to de-ice the plane and runways.

“Denver is a beautiful airport and possibly the worst run in the US,” he initially wrote.

Minutes later, he tweeted that the captain had told passengers the episode was the “longest de-icing in his career.”

Captain reports ” longest de icing in his career”. So far an hour and a half. Flights delayed four to five hours so far.

— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) November 18, 2016

But just before 2 a.m. Friday, Dean was thanking United Airlines crews, saying “they never lost their cool.”

Kudos to the crew of @United 12 tonight. Five hour delay and they never lost their cool.

— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) November 18, 2016

Several flights were canceled as the quick-moving storm blew through the DIA area. Many United and AirCanada flights were delayed, some were canceled, and at least one Spirit Airlines flight was also canceled altogether.

DIA officials told Denver7 that deicing is handled by each airline and their contractors, and not by the airport itself.

Denver7 obtained a statement from United Airline officials which stated, in part, “Our team is working closely with our vendor to get the aircraft deiced and get our customers to their destinations. We apologize for any extra delays.”

Delta, Frontier and Southwest Airlines reported no problems in their deicing procedures.

Flights were operating normally at DIA Friday morning.