New management for Sherbrooke Airport?
Doug McCooeye
Sherbrooke
The Sherbrooke Airport could have new management by the end of August.
The airport’s administrative council has been accepting tender offers from companies that wish to run its day-to-day operations. The submission deadline is August 25.
One company that is eagerly waiting to hear if its bid is successful is Aeropro – the much maligned Quebec-based air carrier that saw the Federal Court uphold the Transport Canada decision to revoke its flight permit earlier this week.
Lennoxville borough president David Price, who also serves as president of the airport’s administrative council, said that Aeropro’s recent troubles would not affect their bid.
“While Aeropro had their license revoked for flying violations, the service they provide us is completely different,” he explained in an interview with The Record, noting that the company has provided sound service at the airport during its time at the helm. “They have nothing to do with the management of planes or things like that. Nothing to do with flying.”
Transport Canada grounded Aeropro’s flying operations after one of its aircrafts crashed on June 23 near Quebec City. Seven people were killed in the accident, including the pilot and co-pilot.
The company has been involved in four plane crashes since 2001 and the Transport Canada report listed over 115 safety infractions that it had committed over the last decade.
As quoted in a recent report, The Transport Canada inquiry that evaluated Aeropro operations throughout the province cited “significant shortcomings with respect to management and air operations and also with respect to training.”
Among the causes of the accidents listed by the ministry were inadequate pilot training, a lack of experience, and a lack of respect for safety regulations.
Aeropro has contended that the Transport Canada decision is unjustified and that they were not given proper notice or a chance to correct the problems. Following Monday’s Federal Court decision that ruled in favor of the Transport Canada cancellation, Aeropro president Aurèle Labbé said he was disappointed and that the effects on his company would be massive.
In a statement, Labbé said that as many as 100 employees will be laid off, leaving only about ten or so to continue providing the management services of a few airports, including, potentially, the Sherbrooke Airport.
Established in 1988, Aeropro was a strictly regional carrier often used by Quebec politicians and local businessmen.
Labbé has said that they do not plan to take any further legal action.
Runway repairs on schedule
The repair work being done to the Sherbrooke Airport’s battered runways is into its second week and should be completed right on schedule, says David Price.
“The hot weather has really helped us out,” he said. “It makes the job easier for the workers.”
While certain flight operations have been affected by the work, alternate arrangements have been made.
“This is the time of year when the Sûreté du Québec is checking out the marijuana grows in the area and they usually use our airport for landing and taking off. They are simply using other airports to get the job done.”
Price added that helicopters are still able to land at the airport.
The $2.5 million runway repair job – which is being subsidized by all three levels of government – became necessary after a May 2009 visual inspection by Transport Canada deemed cracks in the runway to be unsafe. While the airport could still host certain flights, the runway as it was could have been hazardous for larger planes.
If the repaving project continues to progress as planned, the runways should be set to go by the end of September.
