Mowing Moments: STL Photo of the Week

Posted on July 26, 2019 in

Mowing the grass takes a whole new meaning when talking about an airport. At about 80.1 million square feet, grass on airfield at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) represents about 57 million square feet. Mowing that would be the equivalent of mowing the average yard in Missouri (about 11,000 square feet) over five thousand times. It takes our dedicated Airfield Maintenance employees over one week to mow the entire airfield, and by that time, it often needs to be re-mowed. After the particularly wet spring weather in St. Louis, the grass at STL has been growing quicker and our crews have been busy keeping it in compliance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards. The FAA advises that grass length on an airfield be kept between six and twelve inches. Not only does keeping the grass length at a reasonable level make the airfield more aesthetically appealing, it also helps STL adhere to wildlife mitigation protocols, which helps keep the airfield clear of animals and other debris that can pose a hazard to aircraft.