Transport Canada's endless delays grounds pilots

[Airband]

'Completely dropped the ball': Transport Canada's endless delays grounds pilots

Certifications that should only take 30 to 40 days are taking a year or longer, say frustrated members of the aviation industry

Tue Jul 19, 2022 - National Post
by Bryan Passifiume

Members of the Canadian aviation industry say growing backlogs at Transport Canada are making it more difficult for new and existing pilots to get their licences, and the federal government has failed to address the issue. 

“They’ve completely dropped the ball,” said Dario Matrundola, president of Canadian Flyers Aviation College — a flight school based at Buttonville Airport northeast of Toronto.

“They don’t answer the phone, they don’t call you back, and you’re lucky if they answer emails.”

Transport Canada’s civil aviation department is struggling to issue the paperwork necessary to fly, effectively grounding an unknown number of Canadian and foreign pilots who train here. Of particular concern are unacceptable delays with Transport Canada’s issuance of medical certificates.

While applicants normally receive their certificates between 30 and 40 days after submitting their paperwork, some of Matrundola’s students have been left waiting more than a year.

“They’re still working, we’re still working — its just Transport Canada and actual government employees who aren’t doing anything,” he said.

Whether a captain employed by a major airline or a general aviation pilot who takes to the skies as a hobby, a clean bill of health is a vital part of aviation licensure in most nations.

Passing his most recent flight medical a year-and-a-half ago, Matrundola — a certified pilot examiner for Transport Canada — waited over six months to receive his certificate in the mail.

“My career and everything was put on hold for six months because they would not issue me a piece of paper that I already had,” he said.

“I had to get my lawyer after them to get it.”

Requests for comment were sent to Transport Canada’s media relations department by National Post two weeks ago, but as of deadline Monday no response had been received.

Matrundola isn’t the only one having trouble getting answers out of Transport Canada.

The delays are having a big impact on foreign pilots who train in Canada, said Matrundola — whose flight school trains pilots for airlines including Air Canada, WestJet, Korean Air and China Southern.

“There’s a lot of students who were ready to solo six months ago but can’t get their medical certificate, so they continue with some of the training that they can do, but really it’s just costing them extra money,” he said.

“And then there’s others that are finished and waiting for their (Canadian Aviation Documents) booklet.”

Canadian pilot licences come in the form of a blue booklet whose resemblance to passports are more than skin deep — both are printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company, the private company also responsible for producing Canada’s paper currency.

Students are enduring long delays getting their licence booklets, often long after their temporary permits have expired.

“If I test a new pilot and they pass the flight test and I send in the paperwork, I give them a temporary licence that’s good for 60 days,” Matrundola said.

“Of course, those 60 days will expire — and now this person doesn’t have a licence at all anymore.”

Matrundola said aircraft registration is also seeing long backlogs, recalling difficulties in registering and insuring two trainer aircraft his flight school purchased in B.C. over a year ago.

After the temporary 90-day certifications expire, newly purchased aircraft are essentially grounded until the permanent paperwork from Transport Canada arrives.

Other sources say pilots are also enduring long delays renewing their Restricted Area Identity Card (RAIC) — the so-called “red pass” that permits workers access to restricted areas in Canadian airports.

Meanwhile, Matrundola said the real victims are the students who’ve spent an enormous amount of time and money learning to fly — only to be grounded by a bureaucracy that’s clearly crashed and burned.

“They can’t write exams, they can’t get renewed, they can’t get their booklets,” he said.

“It’s endless.”

[Moon The Loon]

TC is not the only Cdn. gov't department in complete disarray with its dealing with the public. Nevertheless, it is a mess, especially the aeromedical section.

 

[conehead]

3 hours ago, Moon The Loon said:

TC is not the only Cdn. gov't department in complete disarray with its dealing with the public.

 

Passports... 

[mo32a]

We have so many weak and ineffective ministers in so many departments.

The only rational explanation I can think of is they don't want anyone to appear brighter than JT.

That sets the bar awful low.

[Rich Pulman]

21 hours ago, mo32a said:

We have so many weak and ineffective ministers in so many departments.

The only rational explanation I can think of is they don't want anyone to appear brighter than JT.

That sets the bar awful low.

It’s interesting that the political word of the year is “unacceptable” (Rogers… unacceptable, Hockey Canada… unacceptable,  passport delays… unacceptable, airport delays… unacceptable, Catholic Church… unacceptable, inflation… unacceptable, higher interest rates… unacceptable, situation in Ukraine... unacceptable, etc, etc, etc) yet it doesn’t seem to apply to the people running the government or the price of gas.  

[Airband]

What a difference a year makes.

Would-be pilots still stuck in Transport Canada limbo as processing delays drag on another year

Thu Jul 13, 2023 - National Post
by Bryan Passifiume

Quote

“Transport Canada are basically impossible to contact”

OTTAWA – It took three years, but Max Comin is finally ready to fly.

In the year since the aspiring pilot last spoke to the National Post about his agonizing years-long wait for Transport Canada to process his aviation medical certificate to commence commercial flight training, he now says he’s received his papers and is ready to begin flight school.

“As of now, Transport Canada responds much faster to my emails and phone calls,” he told National Post. He had applied for his Category One medical certification in 2020. He received it this past April.

The standard turnaround time for Transport Canada to process aviation medicals is 30 to 40 days — but while Comin’s three-year wait is finally over, those within Canada’s aviation and flight-training industry say little has changed over the past year , and long processing delays are still the norm for those waiting on Transport Canada to process their medical certifications.

Last July Comin spoke out about his years-long wait to get his medical certificate processed , describing countless unreturned phone calls and emails to Transport Canada — an experience shared by pilots and flight school staff across the country.

At the time, Transport Canada — which processes around 60,000 aviation medical certifications annually — blamed increased application volumes and the COVID-19 pandemic for the backlog.

Twelve months later, the situation doesn’t seem to have improved.

Eshaan Dham, set to begin a commercial aviation degree program this fall at Toronto’s Seneca College, says he’s heard nothing from Transport Canada after submitting his Category One medical late last year.

“Transport Canada are basically impossible to contact,” the 17-year-old from Ottawa said.

“You can ask them on the progress, but they won’t really tell you anything. They’ll tell you to post an inquiry on their website, and that’s about all you can do.”

One source at a Toronto-based flight school said that while National Post coverage did make waves among some Transport Canada staff, and vague promises were made to streamline the process, months-long waits for flight medicals are still the standard.

Anybody involved in a safety-critical aviation position, such as pilots, flight engineers or air traffic controllers, must be certified medically fit and issued one of four medical certification classifications maintained by Transport Canada.

Category One certifications are required for commercial and airline pilots, while Category Two medicals are reserved for air traffic controllers.

Private pilots are required to maintain a Category Three medical certification, while Category Four — the least stringent — is used for certifying students, glider and ultralight aircraft pilots.

Many aspiring airline pilots opt to obtain a Category One certification for their training.

Dham said he’s been in touch with his school over the situation, who told him they are well aware of Transport Canada’s issues.

“It’s been pretty frustrating, it’s unfortunate,” he said.

Nadine Ramadan, spokesperson for Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, said that most certificate renewals are being handled immediately by in-office medical examiners. She insisted applications that fall outside of the 40-business-day standard are typically complex, incomplete or require additional information.

“The department continues to liaise with stakeholders including airlines, associations, unions, and flight training units to identify and process priority aviation medical certificate applications,” she said.

“Priority is given to applications for the maintenance of essential aviation services and the preservation of livelihood.”

Transport Canada, she added, is continuing to recruit physicians to both increase capacity and communications with applicants.

An online portal for applicants is also under development, Ramadan said, which Transport Canada hopes to launch by the end of the year.

[Falken]

I hope Omar doesn't wind up like May - over worked and stressed out in the hospital

[moeman]

On 7/13/2023 at 9:23 AM, Falken said:

I hope Omar doesn't wind up like May - over worked and stressed out in the hospital

https://globalnews.ca/video/9855008/omar-alghabra-stepping-down-from-cabinet-announces-he-wont-see-re-election
"

July 25, 2023

Canada's Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced on Twitter Tuesday that he will be stepping down from his Cabinet post, and that he will not be seeking re-election, after an 11-year career in federal politics."

 

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by moeman

[J.O.]

Insert happy dancing GIF image here.