Air North’s president said two cancelled flights on Dec. 4 were prevented from taking off while other carriers were allowed to try to land their planes in Vancouver.
Air North had to cancel two Vancouver-bound flights out of Erik Nielsen International Airport on Dec. 4. Flights in and out of Vancouver were disrupted by heavy fog in the city, according to the airport’s social media. However, company president Joe Sparling said that Air North jets were more than ready to fly – but were denied permission to do so from the Vancouver airport and Nav Canada.
“It wasn't our decision to cancel. It was dictated to us, and we're looking at the circumstances that caused that, and maybe trying to get them addressed slightly differently in the future, so that we would at least have the ability to attempt to get into Vancouver,” said Sparling.
Sparling said lots of other flights attempted to get into Vancouver but had to land at Abbotsford or Victoria, but Air North was held on the ground in Whitehorse.
“Even though we have the necessary authorizations to attempt an approach at Vancouver, we weren’t able to get permission to do so,” he said.
NAV CANADA is the corporation providing air navigation services in Canadian airspace and air traffic service in international airspace for which Canada has assumed responsibility, according to its website.
A spokesperson for the corporation told the News that the fog led to very low visibility at the airport.
“To ensure the maximum safety of everyone on the ground and in the air, CATEGORY II/III approaches were required at YVR for the majority of December 4,” said the spokesperson in the email. They added that the fog severely limited the possibility of conducting successful CATEGORY I approaches.
“All aircraft without the capability to successfully conduct the CATEGORY II/III approaches were not authorized until the fog subsided. This included Air North, amongst other aircraft operators across the country,” said the statement.
Approach categories have to do with the capabilities to operate in poor weather, and the airport’s capabilities to accept operations in poor weather, said Sparling.
However, Sparling said despite being Air North doing a category one approach, there are nuances.
“There are carriers that have an operational authority to attempt landings under conditions that other category one carriers could not, and we have that authority,” said Sparling.
"There's no guarantee that we would have got in. We may have missed and had to go to Abbotsford or Victoria or some other alternate just as many aircraft had to do that day, but we were basically precluded from departing,” said Sparling. “I think that could have been dealt with slightly differently, to at least give us an opportunity to depart.”
A spokesperson from Vancouver Airport Authority responded to questions from the News by stating that seasonal weather continues to persist in several areas of the country, affecting operations at some airports across Canada. They pointed to fog at Vancouver International Airport and heavy snow in Montreal.
“In these conditions, delays to scheduled departures and flight cancellations can occur.”
Sparling said Air North is in discussions with NAV Canada.
“...they did draw the line on what flights that could operate, and we fell on the wrong side of the line,” said Sparling. He said NAV Canada could have drawn the line differently.
Air North was able to transport passengers whose flights were cancelled the following day, and Sparling said the airline is now all caught up.
Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com
