Will Go Into Effect In 2008

Aero-News has learned the Canadian Transportation Agency, over the objections of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association and the Helicopter Association of Canada, has given its approval to a daily fee of $10 applying to aircraft operating out of international airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

The annual fee -- with will become effective March 1, 2008 -- will apply to aircraft weighing less than three metric tonnes (6,613 lbs), according to a Nav Canada release. The fees will be capped at a maximum of $1200 per year.

Commenting on the proposal when it was first introduced in April of this year, COPA President and CEO Kevin Psutka called the idea "a very slippery slope that has played out elsewhere in the world."

"The age of pay-as-you-go is upon us..." said Psutka. "COPA considers this a devastating precedent that will most likely be expanded over time to capture more airports and/or services."

COPA appealed the decision in May... but that appeal was overruled by the CTA.

Nav Canada is the private corporation that purchased rights to operate Canada's air traffic control system in 1996. The company provides air traffic control, flight information, weather briefings, aeronautical information services, airport advisory services and electronic aids to navigation.

FMI: www.navcanada.ca, www.copanational.org