One runway at Halifax airport remains closed after plane skids off

Halifax’s international airport won’t regain full use of both its runways until at least next week, after an overshoot that left a cargo plane mangled.

Airport spokesperson Theresa Rath Spicer said Monday the secondary runway has been closed since Nov. 7, when a Boeing 747 overshot the runway and came close to breaching the airport’s fence.

Rath Spicer said part of the plane was removed over the weekend, and the dismantling of the huge aircraft was expected to continue.

“The aircraft has to be completely removed before we can reopen the runway,” she said in an email Monday.

She said the ongoing closure caused some delays, cancellations and diversions into Friday because the winds favoured the runway that is closed, but that they are hoping to partially reopen it this week.

“We’re striving to reopen it in the next couple of days, but this is a very fluid process that is subject to change. When it does reopen, it won’t be at its full capacity,” she said.

Nav Canada spokesperson Ron Singer said Monday the plane did “significant damage” to the airport’s instrument landing system (ILS), which provides horizontal and vertical guidance.

That equipment needs to be repaired and tested, which won’t be done until at least early next week, or later if weather is bad, he said.

But he noted the ILS is mostly used when there is a low ceiling or low visibility.

“Planes could land without the ILS if the weather conditions are favourable,” Singer said.

Rath Spicer said flights had returned to normal after the incident, but that travel was disrupted by high winds and snow last week and it remains “contingent on weather, particularly wind direction.”

She said an engineering review has found no damage to the runway surface.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the crash of the SkyLease Cargo plane, which left four crew members with minor injuries.