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GPS landing procedure to increase reliability at Castlegar airport progressing

West Kootenay Regional Airport manager says plans to improve reliability are entering “end phase”
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An end to reliability issues at the West Kootenay Regional Airport may be in sight. Photo: Betsy Kline

The West Kootenay Regional Airport’s manager and Castlegar’s mayor have indicated that positive steps are being made in solving the airport’s long-term reliability issues.

In an April 17 Castlegar city council discussion related to the recent announcement of a $6-million grant to help fund a $13-million expansion to the terminal building, Mayor Maria McFaddin confirmed the city is moving forward with its reliability improvement plans.

“It is another big domino which has to fall,” said airport manager Maciej Habrych. “But we are really well positioned.”

He said staff has spent the last year refining the Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedure proposed for the airport.

RNP is the computer-based procedure that the city has been hanging its reliability improvement hopes on for the past six years. It is a set of navigation specifications that use GPS along a precise flight path to create a high level of accuracy, offering significant safety benefits over traditional approaches. RNPs are used in airports worldwide.

“We are coming to an end phase now where we are comfortable starting to develop it and start pitching it and gathering some interest through our industry partners,” added Habrych.

Council and city staff were in a celebratory mood as they discussed the forward momentum of the airport in the last few years.

McFaddin said she wanted to celebrate the expansion funding “like we should … because we are going to need it, especially when our reliability gets up there.”

CAO Chris Barlow recounted that it has only been a few years since the city adopted a master plan for the airport in 2019.

“At that time, council said this was going to be a priority for the city and for the region and resourced it and put the energy behind it.”

The plan prompted the city to take the action of investing about $1 million into the exploration of developing the RNP for the airport.

“A few years ago we were at the mercy of everyone else and we weren’t sure what was going to happen, so council took that bold step,” said Barlow.

He also added that Habrych is pushing on all fronts to get the regulatory approvals needed for the RNP.

“When you look at the airport from all sides — regulatory, air-side capital improvements, ground-side capital improvements — in three or four short years under the support of council and leadership, we have made a lot of improvements,” said Barlow.

McFaddin credited the work that council and the community have done towards improving the airport as some of the reasoning behind the investments that keep pouring into the airport from various funders.

“They see the writing on the wall that in a few years from now, it will look very different than it does now,” concluded McFaddin.

Major airport projects in recent years:

April 2019 — Airfield lighting and electrical systems upgrades funded through $1.3 million from Transport Canada.

May 2019 — $1.4 million in taxiway and apron repaving and improvements with $1 million of the funding provided by the province.

December 2021 — RNP landing procedure submitted to regulators including Nav Canada.

April 2022 — Solar LED runway edge lights with the majority of the $400,000 cost coming from the BC Air Access Program.

January 2023 — The airport received a $2.35-million Transport Canada grant to expand the taxiway and apron. Airport manager says the project is a “game-changer and an amazing development for the Q400 operations.”

April 2023 — The city received a $6-million grant to help pay for the expansion of the airport’s terminal building.



betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com

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Betsy Kline

About the Author: Betsy Kline

After spending several years as a freelance writer for the Castlegar News, Betsy joined the editorial staff as a reporter in March of 2015. In 2020, she moved into the editor's position.
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