Mixed messages fly over air-traffic control review
Mixed messages and conflicting statements about why Windsor's air-traffic control tower might be axed are only adding confusion to an already dire situation, Mayor Drew Dilkens said Monday.
“So, now we have a study that's putting the safety and economic interests of our local airport at risk, and the more we learn the more it doesn't add up,” said Dilkens.
“We've got our local MPS. They've all spoken up. The chamber of commerce has spoken up. The port authority has spoken up. The pilot associations have spoken up. We all agree this is a foolhardy study.”
Nav Canada, the privatized owner and operator of the country's civil air navigation system, is considering taking air-traffic control away from Windsor International Airport. The agency recently put Windsor on a list with five other communities, along with Prince George, B.C.; Whitehorse, Yukon; Fort Mcmurray, Alta.; Regina, Sask.; and Sault Ste. Marie, to study for possible “service reductions.”
There has been some confusion over how Windsor, which had its highest passenger volume ever in 2019 and sits next to Detroit under crowded airspace, landed on the list. More than 383,000 passengers passed through the airport last year.
Nav Canada has told the Star that it put Windsor's airport under review because of “long-term air-traffic levels, including prior to the pandemic.”
Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau told the Star last week the study was prompted by a decline in traffic levels during the pandemic.
Garneau also said it was Nav Canada's decision to launch the studies on potential service reductions.
Dilkens said he's heard varying versions. He said that when local officials learned of the study, they were told it was Nav Canada undertaking it, independent of the federal government.
“However, when we got Nav Canada on the line last week, they're saying that they're undertaking this work because they previously approached the federal government for financial support due to the ongoing pandemic and were denied,” he said. “The federal government told them go back and find efficiencies and cost savings, and they were told that by Transport Canada.”
On Monday, Nav Canada spokeswoman Rebecca Hickey said the agency initiated the reviews on its own and not at Transport Canada's urging.
Dilkens said there has been similar confusion over what the focus of the studies will be.
“When we first got the news that the airport would be considered for the study to reduce the level of service and take away the dedicated control tower, we were told it was going to rely on baseline flight and passenger volumes from pre-pandemic,” he said.
“Now, the mixed messaging comes because we're hearing the federal government, Transport Minister Marc Garneau, suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic caused the drop-off and those travel numbers will be included.”
Hickey, Nav Canada's senior manager of corporate communications and public affairs, said Monday the study will focus on pre-pandemic traffic.
“Nav Canada's decision to initiate a review of its services is primarily based on pre COVID-19 traffic trends,” she said in an email. “Nav Canada considered historical traffic prior to initiating the aeronautical study.”
Nav Canada considers many factors when studying service levels, she said, including “traffic levels, the mix and distribution throughout the day, weather, airport and airspace configuration, surface activity, and the efficiency requirements of operators using the service.”
In response to the Star's request for clarification, Garneau's press secretary did not specifically address whether Transport Canada asked Nav Canada to do the studies or look for cost savings.
“Nav-canada is a private and independent organization,” Allison St-jean said in an email. “As such, it is responsible for assessing its levels of service and ensuring they are safe and cost-effective. The role of Transport Canada is to ensure the provision of safe air navigation services by Nav-canada.
“Given that it is the aeronautical study process that would determine the site-specific need for services, Nav-canada is best positioned to speak to factors which led to the need for a service-level study to be conducted.”
Dilkens has sent off another letter to Garneau's office asking for his own clarification.
“The more we learn about the aeronautical study regarding Windsor airport, the more we end up scratching our heads,” he told the Star.