"Peter R." writes:
Christopher Brian Colohan wrote:

first, it means that the planes
will fly through the freezing levels quickly (and up higher where it
is too cold for ice accumulation), so they don't pick up much ice.

Thanks, Chris. Regarding the above, that may be true for departing
aircraft, but what about aircraft on approach to a busy airport? It is
certainly probable that these aircraft may be vectored around at lower
altitudes for many minutes at slower speeds. I would imagine that if this
occurs in heavy freezing rain this could be a real problem, no?

(speaking from a complete lack of experience...) I also imagine that
this could be a problem, and I would guess that the solution is "don't
do that". If a plane is picking up ice, the solution is to leave the
icing conditions -- either climb or descend. I'm sure ATC would allow
a plane to do this if a request was made.

Chris