UPDATED - Powell River Regional District (PRRD) announced on Friday, October 25 that scheduled flights to and from Texada Island airport are being resumed.
PRRD and KD Air, the airline that provided scheduled service to the airport, jointly submitted an Aerodrome Authorization Application to Transport Canada. The agency issued a Civil Aviation Aerodrome Authorization, which allows scheduled flights to resume. As a condition of the authorization, KD Air is the only commercial air operator allowed to use the airport for scheduled passenger flights.
PRRD, the owner and operator of the airport, voluntarily surrendered the airport’s certification to Transport Canada on Friday, September 27. Civil aviation regulations require that all scheduled commercial air services be carried out from certified airports.
Transport Canada issued a notice on Friday, October 4 advising KD Air that it could not continue scheduled flights to and from Texada.
There was no information from the regional district about the development until Monday afternoon, October 7, when an unsigned statement was posted to the regional district’s website. It stated that Transport Canada gave the regional district the choice of “either voluntarily surrendering its certified status or of suffering the consequences of a formal inspection audit.”
On Saturday, October 5, Texada Island Director Dave Murphy posted a statement on Facebook on the Texada Island Message Board page. He stated, in part, that, “The Texada [Island] airport advisory committee and the PRRD were assured that regular[ly] scheduled air service by KD Air would be maintained through a special licence. As well, an expedited ‘exemption’ for Texada would be a priority from Transport Canada.”
However, in an email to the Peak, Jillian Glover, Transport Canada’s regional communications advisor, stated that when the regional district surrendered its airport operator’s certificate, “they were informed that scheduled service would be affected, but that KD Air may continue to operate into Texada Island airport on a charter basis and that other flight operations (general aviation, medevac, etc.) are unaffected by this certificate’s surrender.”
Al Radke, PRRD chief administrative officer, told the Peak he knew there was going to be a transition period. “What came as a shock and a surprise to me was that they used this NOTAM, which is the acronym for Notice To Airmen. That’s good for the guys that fly the planes, but it’s no good for me or the rest of the public, because we don’t know.”
Radke said that’s what shocked him on Friday, October 4, because, he said, “It came just out of left field and hit me on the side of the head. I was expecting that they would have given me a call or a fax or an email to say, now that we have this, we’re going to move to this process. I wasn’t given that information, so we had no time to react or make a public statement.”
According to Transport Canada regulations, all land airports that do not have scheduled passenger service are aerodromes. These facilities are not certified by Transport Canada. Nearby aerodromes owned by local governments include Sechelt, Courtenay and Alberni Valley.
At the October 24 regional board meeting, Murphy said he thought the fact that the airport was now an aerodrome was a “huge win” for Texada.
“With all of the controversy about the airport and what has happened, and what we’ve heard from the air service providers, in ending, people wanted the certification, and when I say people I mean constituents of Texada, they want that service. Now, with this exemption and the new relationship we have with Transport Canada dealing with the issue of airport safety, we’ve been able to jump over that hurdle,” he said. “It’s been a win for us, even though we don’t have the certification as of today because we surrendered it. The door is still open to make application someday down the road if we deem it appropriate to reapply.”
Colin Palmer, board chair and Electoral Area C director, said he thought it was important for all the directors to remember that “once this thing is signed, sealed and done, we are no longer liable. So in other words, we don’t have to face any fines or any regulatory issues by Transport Canada, which they were about to do. If you can imagine, we call Vancouver airport an airport, not an aerodrome. This now means that Texada is an aerodrome, but KD Air is still allowed to fly in, but we don’t have to meet all the major certification requirements of a major airport.”
Texada director calls loss of airport certification a ‘win’
Regional district is applying for ministerial authorization to allow scheduled commercial air service
Powell River Regional District (PRRD) officials announced late Friday afternoon that scheduled flights to and from the Texada Island airport are being resumed.
Transport Canada issued a Civil Aviation Aerodrome Authorization on October 25, according to a press release from PRRD. The authorization will allow scheduled flights to resume effective today. As a condition of this authorization, KD Air is the only commercial air operator allowed to use the airport for scheduled passenger flights.
Lars Banke, owner of KD Air, said, "We are excited to hear that the issues at the Gillies Bay airport been resolved and KD Air will re-commence its scheduled flight service effective immediately."
To read the PRRD press release, click here.
PRRD officials completed an application package on October 11 that would allow commercial air service at the Texada Island airport to resume. PRRD and KD Air, the airline that provided scheduled service to the airport, have applied for a ministerial authorization to allow scheduled commercial air service with restructions.
PRRD, the owner and operator of the airport, voluntarily surrendered the airport’s certification to Transport Canada on Friday, September 27. Civil aviation regulations require that all scheduled commercial air services be carried out from certified airports.
Transport Canada issued a notice on Friday, October 4 advising KD Air that it could not continue scheduled flights to and from Texada.
There was no information from the regional district about the development until Monday afternoon, October 7, when an unsigned statement was posted to the regional district’s website. It stated that Transport Canada gave the regional district the choice of “either voluntarily surrendering its certified status or of suffering the consequences of a formal inspection audit.”
On Saturday, October 5, Texada Island Director Dave Murphy posted a statement on Facebook on the Texada Island Message Board page. He stated, in part, that, “The Texada [Island] airport advisory committee and the PRRD were assured that regular[ly] scheduled air service by KD Air would be maintained through a special licence. As well, an expedited ‘exemption’ for Texada would be a priority from Transport Canada.”
However, in an email to the Peak, Jillian Glover, Transport Canada’s regional communications advisor, stated that when the regional district surrendered its airport operator’s certificate, “they were informed that scheduled service would be affected, but that KD Air may continue to operate into Texada Island airport on a charter basis and that other flight operations (general aviation, medevac, etc.) are unaffected by this certificate’s surrender.”
Al Radke, PRRD chief administrative officer, told the Peak he knew there was going to be a transition period. “What came as a shock and a surprise to me was that they used this NOTAM, which is the acronym for Notice To Airmen. That’s good for the guys that fly the planes, but it’s no good for me or the rest of the public, because we don’t know.”
Radke said that’s what shocked him on Friday, October 4, because, he said, “It came just out of left field and hit me on the side of the head. I was expecting that they would have given me a call or a fax or an email to say, now that we have this, we’re going to move to this process. I wasn’t given that information, so we had no time to react or make a public statement.”
The information on the PRRD website stated that the regional district believes that the interruption to KD Air’s service will be short lived.
At the October 24 regional board meeting, Murphy reported he had received “some very good news from our CAO, who’s been very hands on and very vocally minded when it comes to what’s happening with the airport. I just learned today that all of the requirements that have been asked of us, the region and the airport, regarding safety and Transport Canada’s requirements to move forward with this exemption have been fulfilled. The application and everything is in the hands of Transport Canada and we’re hoping to hear something from them very, very soon.”
Radke noted “all of the i’s have been dotted and all of the t’s have been crossed. Our application is complete and is satisfactory. KD Air has submitted its obligations. Transport Canada from the aerodrome side has conversed with the aviation side. They’re all good. Aerodrome side is good.”
A letter approving the ministerial authorization has to be signed, Radke added, and that’s now up to Transport Canada.
According to Transport Canada regulations, all land airports that do not have scheduled passenger service are aerodromes. These facilities are not certified by Transport Canada. Nearby aerodromes owned by local governments include Sechelt, Courtenay and Alberni Valley.
Murphy said he thought the fact that the airport was now an aerodrome was a “huge win” for Texada.
“With all of the controversy about the airport and what has happened, and what we’ve heard from the air service providers, in ending, people wanted the certification, and when I say people I mean constituents of Texada, they want that service. Now, with this exemption and the new relationship we have with Transport Canada dealing with the issue of airport safety, we’ve been able to jump over that hurdle. Hopefully we’re going to receive this exemption, which will give us registered aerodrome status with an air service provider, which is KD Air. It’s been a win for us, even though we don’t have the certification as of today because we surrendered it. The door is still open to make application someday down the road if we deem it appropriate to reapply. They’re looking at what we’ve done very favourably and relinquishing it to accommodate their safety standards. I see this as a big plus for us.”
Colin Palmer, board chair and Electoral Area C director, said he thought it was important for all the directors to remember that “once this thing is signed, sealed and done, we are no longer liable. So in other words, we don’t have to face any fines or any regulatory issues by Transport Canada, which they were about to do. If you can imagine, we call Vancouver airport an airport, not an aerodrome. This now means that Texada is an aerodrome, but KD Air is still allowed to fly in, but we don’t have to meet all the major certification requirements of a major airport.”
Murphy also said that a number of times in the past, Texada residents have looked at opportunities for economic development. “And on a number of occasions, initiatives to increase the functioning of the airport to attract more business or more economies were curtailed because of its certification and the policies around it, the protocol, safety management systems protocol. Now with having a registered air service provider at the aerodrome, we can do a numerous amount of things and we’re going to be investigating that in earnest down the road to look at increasing the viability and business opportunities, freight.”
.jpg;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)