Changes to transport regulations could hurt northern airlines: ATAC
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all scenario”

An Air Inuit Dash 8 is seen parked at the Kuujjuaq airport. Northern airlines say proposed changes to federal regulations don’t take into consideration the dynamics of operating in Canada’s North. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)
Northern airlines are making a last-ditch effort to convince Transport Canada to back down on proposed changes to the number of hours pilots can work and fly.
Following a deadly 2009 U.S. plane crash that was later credited to pilot fatigue, Ottawa has been working to amend “flight and duty times” under the Canadian Aviation Regulations.
Transport Canada wants to reduce the current maximum flight duty period from 14 consecutive hours to anywhere between nine and 13 hours, depending on what time of the day a pilot begins work.
But northern airlines say the regulations don’t take into consideration the dynamics of operating in Canada’s North.
“We certainly agree that fatigue is an issue—a tired pilot is a dangerous pilot,” said Dave Minty, a retired Air Inuit pilot who continues to do consulting for the Nunavik airline.
“But it’s not a one-size-fits-all scenario. There are certainly many considerations that haven’t been addressed.”
Minty offers an example: Air Inuit flight 802, which departs Montreal at 7 a.m. The crew arrives at 6 a.m. to begin the seven-leg journey via Quebec City, Schefferville and along the Ungava coast to its final destination of Salluit at 5:35 p.m.
From the time a pilot arrives at work until the time the aircraft’s engines go off in Salluit, that’s an 11-hour flight, which, given the time of day, would be the new cut-off under the proposed regulations.
“That works, but it’s pretty tight,” Minty said. “Obviously, bad weather is always an issue so it leaves us with very little room to manoeuvre.”
Another scenario: there are two standby medevac teams stationed in Kuujjuaq and another two in Puvirnituq, which are home to Nunavik’s two hospitals.
Currently, crews can do three nights shifts each before they’re required to take 36 hours off.
Under the new regulations, if a crew finishes their night shift at 7 a.m., their required time off can’t begin until 10 p.m. that same day, which would require each community to have an additional medevac crew.
Minty estimates that would cost Air Inuit over $1 million a year. “Who’s going to pay for that?” he said.
Transport Canada has estimated that across the board, the changes will only translate into an increase in airfare of 28 cents per airline ticket.
The impact in the North will be much more, northern airlines have warned.
“We are not asking [Transport] Minister [Marc Garneau] to back down from his intention to modernize Canadian regulations on flight and duty time,” said John McKenna, president and CEO of the Air Transport Association of Canada, in a May 8 release.
“We are simply asking him to pause, to work with all stakeholders to draft a revised set of regulations that will not threaten our competitiveness, and minimize the impact on Canadians everywhere—but particularly to those northern, remote, and Indigenous communities who depend on aviation the most.”
The association said the proposed changes will also only aggravate the country’s current pilot shortage; it’s estimated there are about 600 pilots needed to fill jobs in Canada.
A recent government-funded study found that the new regulations could require a 26 per cent increase in the number of pilots just to maintain current levels of service in Canada.
Transport Canada hopes to finalize the new regulations by July.
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