The City of Castlegar says that steady progress is being made towards implementing a Required Navigational Performance (RNP) approach at the West Kootenay Regional Airport.
The procedure would reduce cancellations by enabling aircraft to navigate precise GPS-guided flight paths.
Dependable landing and takeoffs have been an issue for as long as the airport has been around due to the narrow valley in which the airport is situated and poor visibility in inclement or foggy weather.
But implementing an RNP is a slow process.
The idea has been floated around for almost a decade, with the first serious steps taken by the city in 2017 with a formal study and the hiring of an airport consultant.
There were also other hurdles in the way. WKRA's principal carrier, Air Canada, was flying planes that could not be equipped with the procedure and Canada's regulations and capacity for RNPs lagged behind those in the United States and elsewhere in the world.
After the COVID pandemic wound down in June of 2021 one of those obstacles dropped away when Air Canada restarted its WKRA operations with the Q400 – a plane that can be equipped with RNP technology.
During the same year, the City of Castlegar hired air navigation experts to develop the RNP procedure rather than waiting on government agencies to develop one, increasing the likelihood of success.
By the end of 2021, the procedure was complete and submitted to Transport Canada for approval. Castlegar's CAO Chris Barlow predicted approval in 2022 and implementation in 2023.
But three years later, WKRA is still waiting for the government agencies to finalize their approvals.
The city says Transport Canada has signalled its "intent to move forward and is actively engaged in the review process" and the airport's manager Maciej Habrych has referenced being in the "end phase."
Meanwhile, the city continues to make plans and progress on improving the rest of the airport so it is ready to handle the increased capacity expected once the RNP finally rolls out. This includes taxiway and apron expansions and a terminal expansion.
Prior to the COVID pandemic, WKRA saw more than 80,000 passengers a year. With only one flight in and one flight out a day post-pandemic, that number has dropped to 30,000, but the city expects those numbers to continue to increase.
While the wait for RNP continues, Air Canada is offering a shuttle to divert passengers through Kelowna to their final destination when flights are cancelled in Castlegar due to weather.
