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Kelowna airport loses international status

YLW must reapply for 91Ƶinternational91Ƶ designation before June 30
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(Black Press file photo)

Despite Kelowna91Ƶs airport not making it onto a list of approved international airports in Canada, senior staff are certain it soon will be.

In January, Transport Canada of designated 91ƵInternational91Ƶ airports in Canada. Among the 13 airports are Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax, but a handful were excluded including Victoria, Kelowna, Regina, and others.

Known locally as the Kelowna International Airport, it will now have until June 30, 2021, to prove to Transport Canada they are fit to be designated as such.

If not, flights to and from international destinations may be diverted to other centres.

Senior Manager of Airport Operations at Kelowna International Airport, Phillip Elchitz, is certain Kelowna91Ƶs name will soon be added back onto the list.

To receive the 91ƵIntl.91Ƶ designation, airports must prove they meet the minimum requirements to service international flights, including the presence of the Canada Border Services Agency, immigration services, protection of the approach, and a few others.

Transport Canada has done this in an effort to align itself with the International Civil Aviation Organization91Ƶs (ICAO) definitions of an International airport. When airports align with ICAO regulations, the 91ƵIntl.91Ƶ designation appears in the flight publication.

While this allows for international arrivals and departures, it also makes it easier for international flight companies to choose where they might expand in the future.

91ƵSome international charter and commercial operators will look for the international designation when they make their plans and route decisions, whether to operate in and out of a Canadian airport,91Ƶ said Elchitz.

91ƵAnd because Transport Canada hasn91Ƶt been aligned with ICAO, these charter and international operators have had to do more research into the airport to make sure it met the minimum requirements.91Ƶ

Elchitz assured the public that there are 91Ƶzero risks91Ƶ of them re-obtaining their international status before the June 30 deadline.

91ƵWe currently meet all of the requirements, so there are zero risks of not being able to operate internationally, once the COVID-19 restrictions are eventually lifted.91Ƶ

~With Files from Kelsey Yates

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: phil.mclachlan@kelownacapnews.com


 


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Phil McLachlan

About the Author: Phil McLachlan

Phil McLachlan is the editor at the Penticton Western News. He served as the reporter, and eventually editor of The Free Press newspaper in Fernie.
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