WestJet Evidently told passengers the problem was because of Weather

[Guest]

and the story says that but also blames a shortened runway, and both reasons could be correct.  Then the story says that Transport Canada ordered the shortening of the runways and being that the Notam was published some time ago, would planning not be done to accommodate the reduced runway? Or maybe it was and then the weather cocked it up?

Shortened Penticton airport runway prompting flight delays and cancellations

BY SHELBY THOM GLOBAL NEWS

Posted October 6, 2019 1:19 pm

Updated October 6, 2019 2:29 pm

 Flights are being cancelled or delayed at Penticton Regional Airport (YYF) after Transport Canada ordered the shortening of the runway due to an obstruction. WestJet been unable to land at Penticton Regional Airport (YYF) in the past week, and it appears a temporarily shortened landing strip is to blame.

A Westjet spokesperson said an inbound flight from Calgary International Airport (YYC) was forced to return to Alberta last Saturday. It was unable to land due to the ceiling being “below operating limits,” according to media relations advisor Morgan Bell.

Passengers on flight 3267 from YYC to YYF on Oct. 3 also experienced a disruption in their flight plans as the plane was diverted to Kelowna, B.C., under similar circumstances.

Melody Walker said the diversion meant her brother’s Friday morning flight to Calgary was cancelled. He missed his connection to Ottawa and was delayed by three-and-a-half hours.

Walker said the airline classified the flight cancellation as “weather-related” and therefore her brother was not offered upgrades or financial remuneration for the inconvenience.

1:44Navigation system improvements not included in multi-million Penticton airport expansion

 Navigation system improvements not included in multi-million Penticton airport expansion

However, Walker said when she discussed the flight cancellation with the Westjet manager on duty at YYF, she was informed the flight diversion was due to the shortened runway impacting navigation equipment procedures.

“Tourists, local and regional residents of this area deserve to know the increased risk they incur if they currently book a flight to fly in or out of Penticton,” she said in an email to Global News.

Transport Canada issued a “Notice to Airmen” (NOTAM) posted to the Nav Canada website to alert pilots to the shortened runway at YYF by about 470 feet due to an obstacle.

Nav Canada is a private corporation that owns and operates Canada’s civil air navigation system (ANS). Spokesperson Rebecca Hickey said the notice is in place from Sept. 25 to Oct. 25.

The federal agency said the obstacle is the exhaust system at the nearby Greenwood Forest Products sawmill.

The exhaust system has reportedly been in place for several years but was flagged during a recent audit of the airport. YYF is owned and operated by Transport Canada.

1:56Dangerously tall trees cause flight cancellations at Penticton airport

 Dangerously tall trees cause flight cancellations at Penticton airport

Westjet said the shortened runway is impacting specific navigational aids for some flights that arrive at night and during periods of poor weather.

If the weather is not clear enough to allow the pilot to visually see where the aircraft is going, pilots are required to use instrument flight rules to operate the aircraft.

In aviation, an instrument approach is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the transfer of an aircraft under instrument flight conditions from the beginning of the initial approach to a landing.

“The Penticton airport was required to remove the only instrument approach that allows us to land straight in,” Bell said.

“A straight in approach allows the pilots to transition from using the flight instruments to visually identifying the runway and then landing straight ahead,” she added.

“Although there are other instrument approaches in Penticton, those approaches require us to maneuver or circle in the valley which we are unable to do in poor weather or at night for safety reasons.”

Bell said the approach was removed and the runway shortened as a result of a Transport Canada Process Inspection completed early this summer.

It is unclear when and how the obstruction issue will be addressed and the full runway reinstated to 6,000 feet.

Jazz, the operator of Air Canada Express service to Penticton, said the NOTAM could also impact its operations.

“Safety is our top priority and we only operate where and when it is safe to do so,” it said in a statement.

Global Okanagan has reached out to Transport Canada for further comment.

[Ex 9A Guy]

It sounds like the obstacle (which has been there for years with seemingly no ill effects) has caused the need for the threshold to be displaced almost 500 feet.  

Doing this would negate any straight in non-precision minima currently published for that runway end and cause circling minima, with the appropriately higher weather minima to become governing.   The RNAV Y approach has minima of 500AGL all the other approaches are between 1490 and 2110 AGL and the RNAV Y has been NOTAMed unusable. So an equipment/facilities issue becomes a weather issue due to the much higher minima.

[Bobcaygeon]

Either way it's beyond the operator's control just like if Penticton started paving the runway and it shortened the runway and it was too short for the aircraft type or the airport was closed certain hours for paving so certain flights couldn't operate on time. You can buy a ticket a long way in advance, much earlier then an airport would finalize the dates for paving....and they never finish on time....

 

Clearly its a slow news day.......

[vanishing point]

Talk to the landowner, pay enough money, remove trees.