With the storm approaching, crews both on the streets and for air traffic were already prepping for what's coming.

The Omaha Airport Authority shared with Channel 6 News its plans in keeping the airport open for planes to take off and land.

It’s the calm before the storm, but airplanes loaded with passengers lined up to take off Friday night before the impending winter storm hit the metro. Inside winter operations at Eppley Airfield, large snowplows, blowers and brushes stood at the ready to start moving snow.

Tom Swanek, field maintenance manager with the Omaha Airport Authority, says, "We are ready, we've got a tenacious group of guys, great equipment and we are ready to go."

The airport's snow removal plan includes a continuous cycle of seven large plow trucks equipped with 20 to 22 foot-long blades, followed by five brooms that will sweep away the snow off runways and blowers to clear 4,000 tons of snow per hour.

"We have to take every situation different, we work with the operations department and we just get on the runways and we have a snow plan in place, we just keep all the surfaces as clean as possible,” Swanek said.

Travelers warn of the impending storm. Phil Choler traveled from Denver through Wyoming early Friday before stopping in Omaha. "I kept looking every 15 minutes, still on time, and it ended up working out for me. I know a lot of people were stuck."

The city of Omaha also had its own plan in place with their plows. Crews reported to work around midnight, expected to hit the street by 3 a.m. de-icing and laying down sand. Private contractors will be out by 6 a.m., taking care of neighborhoods.

At Eppley, if ice forms on the taxiways and runways, a chemical de-icer will be used. "Anything at the airport is critical, so you know it doesn't really change if it's an inch or 10 inches, we are really doing the same job," Swanek said.

According to the Airport Authority, it's up to the airlines to decide whether or not they want to cancel flights.