Air traffic control saved at Windsor International
Critics vindicated as NAV Canada announces it won't shut towers
The people fighting to save air traffic control at Windsor International Airport were declaring Thursday a “tremendous day,” after NAV Canada announced it won't shut down the control tower here or at any other airport across the country.
“It's exciting and certainly it's a vindication for all of those advocates who came forward and called for NAV Canada to halt their study of Windsor Airport,” Mayor Drew Dilkens said after learning of NAV Canada's out-of-the-blue announcement.
It puts to rest the most-feared possible outcome of an ongoing aeronautical study: the closure of the airport's control tower.
“After considerable consultation with airlines, airports, industry associations, local officials and internal stakeholders, NAV Canada has elected to limit changes to services across the country,” the private air navigation firm said Thursday afternoon.
“NAV Canada is committing that there will be no site closures at air traffic control towers or flight service stations across the country.”
Windsor was one of seven airports in the NAV Canada crosshairs, though the company said it was conducting a total of 29 of these studies across the country in response to dramatically dropping revenues during the pandemic. The threat to Windsor's operation, announced in November, elicited vocal opposition from local politicians, pilots and business leaders concerned about the safety and economic implications. A final recommendation was supposed to go to the federal transport minister in the coming months.
Of particular concern was Windsor's unique and complicated air space. Two Detroit airports are within 17 nautical miles. Though Windsor's 44,000 annual movements (takeoffs and landings) were below the 60,000 threshold for air traffic control, the local air space has a total of 550,000 when Detroit Metrol and Detroit City are considered, with criss-crossing air traffic, ascending and descending at multiple altitudes and speeds.
In 1979, a plane taking off from Detroit City Airport collided in mid-air with a plane leaving Windsor.
The crash killed three Americans and two Canadians and scattered burning debris and bodies across Windsor's Riverside neighbourhood. As a result, the Riverside Descent Area was created, a nogo zone for planes. That shows the complexity of the local air space and the need for a staffed tower, said advocates.
“It's a great outcome for us,” said Mark Galvin, Windsor Airport's CEO, following Thursday's announcement. He said when you consider Windsor's unique situation, retaining the tower “was vital for us.”
Though any recommendation to close a tower would have ended up on the desk of Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, he only has the power to reject it in the case of safety concerns.
“Look, I don't have to make a decision now, so that's good,” he said Thursday. He wouldn't speculate on whether he would have raised safety concerns if NAV Canada wanted to close Windsor's tower. “But I can tell you if a decision had come to my desk and I felt it compromised safety I would have had to review it.”
“I'm very pleased, very pleased,” with the announcement, the minister said. “Today, I think is a good day for many communities, including Windsor.”
He said the decision was made solely by NAV Canada, which operates at arm's length from the government and that the government isn't providing any additional funding to help NAV Canada back off the tower closures.
Though this was a nationwide decision, the mayor believes “100 per cent” that the Windsor fight was instrumental in convincing NAV Canada to change course.
“We led this, we brought others on board and we gathered the momentum across the country, such that you had six premiers signing letters on behalf of the airports and sending them to the minister of Transport and prime minister saying `You've got to stop this,'” Dilkens said.
The process was roundly criticized as a bungled sham, particularly when it was revealed that money-losing NAV Canada handed out $7 million in executive bonuses shortly after commencing the studies. Then notifications, informing the air traffic controllers the towers were closing and they'd be out of work, were made public, suggesting the closures were a foregone conclusion.
“There were mixed messages and half-answers all along the way, but we just kept advocating and getting all the partners on board speaking with one constant voice,” Dilkens said.
Local MPS were also heavily involved. The NDP'S Brian Masse hammered the government for its handling of the issue, started a petition campaign and introduced a private member's bill to head the closures off. Liberal Irek Kusmierczyk made Windsor's case to Alghabra and set up virtual meetings between local officials and Ottawa decision-makers.
“This is terrific news for our community, we saved air traffic control in Windsor and this is the product of the community coming together,” Kusmierczyk said. He said NAV Canada simply saw the light of day, understanding the safety and economic concerns that were raised.
“This is a tremendous day, a tremendous victory for our community, and I know it's a tremendous relief for the countless people who reached out to our office.”
NAV Canada's news release clearly suggests that the outcry from communities helped to sway the firm.
“The valuable input we have received indicates that a balanced approach is warranted as the industry navigates the ongoing pandemic,” president and CEO Ray Bohn said.
Masse said that removing air traffic control in Windsor would have eliminated commercial passenger flights and created significant safety problems for cargo and private planes due to the complexity of the local air space.
“The victory today to preserve air traffic control services and protect our airports is the collective effort of everyone involved,” he said, “from air traffic controllers, airport workers, pilots, flying clubs, air passengers, cargo users, aircraft maintenance personnel, unions, municipal leaders, chambers of commerce, trade associations, firms from the automotive to agricultural sectors, and concerned residents in all the communities across the country.”