ADIOS, MEXICO
Charter flights to Mexico from Kamloops have been grounded.
Instead, those seeking the sun this winter will have to fly out of Kelowna.
Inadequate navigational aids and space constraints in the customs area of the Kamloops Airport terminal building are the reasons Sunquest, a charter-package agency, has decided to fly to Puerto Vallarta from Kelowna, rather than from Kamloops as originally planned.
This latest withdrawal of an airline from Kamloops is just one more argument that Kamloops Airport needs to be expanded and upgraded, officials say.
Representatives from Skyservice Airlines visited Kamloops Airport on Tuesday, where they met with airport officials to discuss technical and logistic aspects of flying out of Kamloops.
One day later, they decided to not offer the service.
Flights between Kamloops and Puerta Vallarta were scheduled to start Dec. 23 and run until March 24.
Primarily, Skyservice’s decision is due to a lack of glide path, said John O’Fee, president of the Kamloops Airport Authority.
Glide path is a navigational aid that uses a radio beam to direct a pilot landing an aircraft. It is especially important during the winter and in low-cloud conditions.
The airport currently uses a Localizer DME (distance measuring equipment), which pushes an airplane further away and higher up when attempting to land. Using one over the other is an issue of reliability rather than safety, said Fred Legace, the airport’s managing director, because a glide path allows a pilot to come closer to the runway before having to establish visual contact.
This means that under low-cloud conditions, a pilot may be forced to turn the plane around and land at another airport more frequently when relying on a Localizer DME.
Furthermore, Kamloops Airport customs facilities can only handle about 70 people at once.
Skyservice had planned to use Airbus 319 aircraft, which seat 141 passengers, meaning that travellers would have been channeled into the customs areas in groups.
O’Fee said he was “disappointed that we couldn’t overcome all the hurdles,” but said he was not surprised after hearing Skyservice’s decision.
“It underscores why we pursue this [airport expansion] project,” he said.
The project includes an extension of the runway, expanding the airport terminal building and upgrading navigational aids. The total cost is expected to be $16.5 million. Lobbying efforts for federal and provincial funds are underway.
Earlier this month, Calgary-based Regional 1 Airlines announced it would ground its Kamloops-Victoria route, along with all other scheduled-flight services in British Columbia and Alberta, and concentrate instead on charter flights.