Flash News

1.      Saint-Hubert airport

Changes have occurred recently in the management of this airport; the size of the Management Board of DASH-L, the not-for-profit corporation that owns and manage the Saint-Hubert airport since its transfer by Transport Canada in 2004, has been reduced from eleven to nine members; these two seats were formerly held by persons appointed by the south shore Chamber of Commerce; the result is that five out of nine Board members are appointed by the City of Longueuil, which has now the majority of seats.

2.      Air Canada

The president of Air Canada recently indicated that the airline should increase its revenue following the recent entry of Continental Airlines in the Star Alliance network. This new partnership with the fifth largest airline in the world will give Air Canada customers access to 77 new destinations, notably in north-east America, via Newark in New-Jersey, and to more than 30 new destinations in Mexico and Central America, via Houston, Texas. Air Canada will also add a direct service between Montréal and Houston, effective November 30.  

3.      September statistics

NAV CANADA recently announced its traffic figures for the month of September 2009 as measured in weighted charging units for en-route, terminal and oceanic air navigation services, in comparison to the last fiscal year. The traffic in September 2009 decreased by an average of 6.3 per cent compared to the same month in 2008. September represents the first month of NAV CANADA's fiscal year which runs from September 1 to August 31.

4.      Air services to Lebanon

The Government of Canada has recently taken action to improve travel options for passengers wishing to fly from Canada to Lebanon. Effective immediately, the change will allow Canadian air carriers to make arrangements to sell seats on flights of partner airlines (code-sharing) to and from Beirut, Lebanon. This new measure favors Montréal, which is home to Canada's largest Lebanese community. Code-sharing opportunities will be available to Canadian carriers designated by the Minister of Transport and authorized by the Canadian Transportation Agency. This is the first time that code-sharing services between Canada and Lebanon by a Canadian carrier will move forward.

Flash News - H1N1 flu virus - airports and other news

1.  H1N1 flu virus

 This special bullet is the second concerning information and measures for airports concerning the H1N1 flu virus.  In order to keep its members well informed special bulletin will be immediately posted on our site when required.

 On October 29, the Public Health Agency of Canada published a press release entitled “H1N1 flu virus – Government of Canada provides travel guidance” and has also posted an information document to provide guidance to Canadians who travel on board a train, an aircraft, a ferry, a regional bus or any other public transportation vehicle.

 The document concerns primarily transportation companies, passengers and crew members. However, many of the proposed measures could be implemented by airports, especially those receiving regular air services.

 We ask airports to implement these measures, according to their needs and capacities.

>> For more information 

2.   NAV CANADA

 We all remember that in February 2009 NAV Canada released a paper containing proposals for changes to Airport Traffic Services at a number of airports. Members of CAQ will also remember that a NAV Canada representative made a presentation on this topic at our last annual meeting. For Quebec, NAV CANADA had announced a proposal for complete closure of the Rouyn FSS, the reduction in hours of operation for Val d’Or and closure of RASS in Chibougameau, Hâvre-St-Pierre, Blanc-Sablon, Natashquan and finally reduction in hours of operation for the St-Honoré control tower .

 CAQ  had sent a letter to NAV CANADA on April 2, 2009, with copies to all repentant of government of the concerned regions stating that such a reduction would jeopardize the level of safety in those regions affected by severe weather. CAQ had insisted on the fact that the actual situation was the absolute minimum acceptable.   The aeronautical study  and the consultations were completed and the decisions were supposed to be announced in January 2010.

 NAV Canada announced that “it recognizes that traffic levels are currently depressed due to uncertainty in the global and local economy and other related factors. Rather than risk making decisions on airport level of service requirements based on temporary factors, the Company said to have decided that it will not complete the required Aeronautical Studies at this time but will instead continue to monitor traffic levels and service requirements at the subject airports. The company anticipate this deferral will remain in place until at least the fall of 2010. After that time, examinations might find that adjustments in service levels are warranted. If that is the case, consultation and traffic analysis will be updated and Aeronautical Studies completed as per legislative and regulatory requirements”.

 CAQ strongly believes that this situation will prolong the climate of uncertainty for concerned airports and facility operators.  CAQ will continue to follow closely the situation and defend present resources and services in order to maintain a high level of safety:  Priority No. 1 for airports, air carriers, NAV CANADA, Transport Canada and the travelling public  

3.  Mont-Tremblant International airport

 Porter Airlines announced recently that it will be back again at Mont-Tremblant this winter. The company will offer up to eight flights per week, three more than last year.   Flights between Toronto and Mont-Tremblant will be offered Wednesday to Sunday, from December 19 to April 4, 2010. One-way fares will start at 99$, plus taxes. Flights will also be offered from Thunder Bay, Boston, Chicago and New-York.

 4.  Saint-Jean airport

 According to La Presse newspaper, the German company Dornier Seaplane will make a decision within 90 days if it will build its Seastar aircraft at  Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu or at North Bay in Ontario. This new assembly plant could create between 150 to 200 jobs. The company wishes to assemble this aircraft in North America in order to be located closer to its market; in Québec, Dornier is negotiating with Investissement Québec concerning a possible government package available under existing programs. 

Flash News: Influenza A (H1N1)

Introduction

 At the last CAQ annual conference, many members asked for some information on how to prepare their airport to face the coming H1N1 influenza; this bulletin is trying to answer this question; however, we have to know that all the answers regarding this influenza are not presently available from government authorities. CAQ wishes to help its members to better face this important challenge.

 As we all know, provincial health authorities are concentrating their efforts to mobilize the health and social services system towards a mass vaccination against H1N1 virus, which starts this week. Vaccination against seasonal flu has been postponed to January 2010.

At the present time, both governments have only published general information on H1N1.

Let us examine presently available information sources:

 1.  Public Health Agency of Canada

 The agency has recently published « Your H1N1 preparedness guide » on its web site:

>> For more information

 This guide contains very usefull prevention measures as well as planning advice. The web site also contains a lot of information on H1N1 flu virus.

 2.  Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec (MSSQ)

 MSSQ has published on October 15 a pamphlet on Influenza A (H1N1) – “ What you need to know, what you need to do for protecting yourself and others” which provides general information on the topic.  The department has also published a document entitled « Decision chart – if you have flu symptoms », and distributed to all houses in the province on October 26 the « Self-care Guide ».

>> For more information

The MSSQ has also posted the Pandémie Québec web site:

>> For more informationPertinent posters are also available on this site.

 3.  Municipalities

 Each airport should also consult its municipal authorities in order to learn more about available municipal plans.

 4.  International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

 A presentation, dated May 2009, providing basic information on preparedness planning in civil aviation is available on its web site:

>> For more information 

5.  International Air Transportation Association (IATA)

 IATA has posted on its web site a guide for airlines (health and safety for passenger and crew):

>> For more information 

6.  Transports Canada 

 On its web site, Transport Canada is redirecting clients to the Health Canada web site; no particular information for airlines or airports is available.

  7.  Canadian Airports Council (CAC)

 On its web site, CAC is sending its members to the Health Canada web site:

>> For more information 

 Conclusion

 Here is some preliminary advice for airports: 

• Keep yourself posted on information and measures published by both levels of government;

• Check if your municipality has promulgated particular measures;

• Implement proposed preventive measures at your airport;

• Ask the airport employees to be vaccinated.