Image description: Air Transportation Network
The map of Canada shows the 26 airports of the NAS. Each airport, represented by a black plane in a white circle, is identified geographically to illustrate basic air infrastructure. Seven of these airports are located in the Atlantic Provinces, three in Québec, four in Ontario, six in the Prairie Provinces and three in British Columbia. Three other airports are found in the capital of each territory.
Competitiveness and efficiency
In response to the pandemic, the federal government worked with Canadian air operators to help them weather the impacts of COVID-19. Over $11 billion were made available to the air sector, including over $2.7 billion through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, and by year end 2021 agreements were in place for loan facilities with:
- Sunwing (for up to $448.3M)
- Air Canada (for up to $1.4B)
- Transat (for up to $700M), and
- Porter (for up to $270.5M)
The agreements helped these airlines access funding under the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility and required them to refund passengers for cancelled flights due to COVID-19. Air Canada was also required to re-establish domestic regional services.
The Government also created a series of rent waivers and deferrals to support airport authorities. These programs provided support such as:
- the Airport Critical Infrastructure Program ($570.7M) to support critical investments in large airports
- the Airport Relief Fund ($64.8M) to address the financial impacts of COVID-19
- the enhancement of the Airports Capital Assistance Program ($186M), and
- the Regional Air Transportation Initiative ($206M) to keep regional air ecosystems operational and support economic growth
Working with the provincial and territorial governments, the Government of Canada also created the Regional Air Services Program (up to $173.1M) to protect air transportation for remote communities. Another $17M was given to the Governments of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon during 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
Safety and security
COVID-19
In 2020, measures were put in place to manage the risk of new COVID-19 cases arriving in Canada, such as limiting international arrivals to four Canadian airports through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM). In the interest of public safety and in support of a gradual resumption of operations these measures were updated in 2021 to include other airports in August, September, and November 2021, thereby expanding Canadian aviation operations while contributing to a Government of Canada approach to the management and mitigation of COVID-19.
Additional NOTAMs were also used to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Canada through the suspension of flights from select countries. Given the high number of COVID-19 cases seen in air passengers arriving from India, Pakistan and Morocco and other countries, Transport Canada issued a NOTAM to temporarily suspend all commercial and private passenger flights arriving from these countries. As COVID-19 conditions improved, the notices were repealed.
Transport Canada continues to issue COVID-19 measures, updates, and guidance for aviation, including, but not limited to, the regular issuance, review, and implementation of the Interim Order Respecting Certain Requirements for Civil Aviation Due to COVID-19, and any exemptions to it that may be of national interest. Such exemptions include supporting humanitarian relief and diplomatic efforts, law enforcement activities, and facilitating the medical and religious accommodations of individuals.
Transport Canada continues to issue COVID-19 measures, updates, and guidance for aviation.
5G radio altimeters
Transport Canada’s Civil Aviation Directorate published a Civil Aviation Safety Alert (CASA) (2021-08) to communicate the potential risk of 5G interference worldwide, recommend operational measures and to provide a way to report radio altimeter disturbance/interference event to Transport Canada.
Transport Canada found it was likely that some radio altimeter models could be affected by 5G radio waves in different operational scenarios, most notably at low altitude (less than 1000 ft) in the 3700-3980 MHz frequency band.
In November 2021, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada set interim technical rules in the 3450-3650 MHz band to manage interference with radio altimeters.
In November 2021, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin on the risk of adverse effects on radio altimeters and multiple Airworthiness Directives to impose operational restrictions. Transport Canada issued supporting Airworthiness Directives (December 2021) for Canadian airlines that operate in the United States.
Ukraine Airlines Flight PS752
On January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down minutes after taking off from Tehran, Iran, by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. 55 Canadian citizens, and 30 permanent residents were among the 176 people killed in this tragedy.
In 2021, Transport Canada and other federal departments continued to pursue transparency, justice, and accountability for victims’ families and to act on the recommendations from Special Advisor Ralph Goodale’s report to the Prime Minister on Flight PS752.
This includes:
- securing reparations for the families of the victims (led by Global Affairs Canada)
- advocating for improvements to the international air accident investigation framework, and
- continuing to work on the Safer Skies Initiative
In 2021, Transport Canada also consolidated the Conflict Zone Information Office. The office monitors, assesses and responds 24/7 to the risks conflict zones pose to civil aviation. The office issued several notifications to advise Canadian air operators on high-risk areas in 2021.
Internationally, the office worked on key deliverables with the Safer Skies Consultative Committee. These deliverables included:
- developing information-sharing practices for conflict zones
- sharing best practices for managing and assessing risks
- developing guiding principals for closing airspace, and
- reviewing global standards and guidance materials
In October 2021, the committee submitted a written update to the International Civil Aviation Organization Council. In March 2022, Transport Canada and the committee hosted the second-annual Safer Skies Forum. The forum brought together technical subject-matter experts from around the globe to discuss how the industry can manage and reduce the risks to air transportation in conflict zones.
Green transportation
Transport Canada is actively involved in maintaining the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, also known as CORSIA. The plan addresses the increase in international aviation emissions from 2020 on by requiring aircraft operators to buy emission units on the open market to offset a portion of their greenhouse gas emissions on international flights.
This applies to any operator that will emit more than 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions on international flights from 2019 to 2035.
In December 2020, an update was published to the regulations under the Aeronautics Act to set out the offsetting and alternative fuels requirements of CORSIA. With this act, CORSIA was fully implemented in Canada. The offsetting phase of CORSIA began in 2021.
Transport Canada has also been supporting ICAO’s ACT-CORSIA Program which is helping countries build capacity and train airline staff to support the global implementation of CORSIA.
Work continues closely with Canadian air carriers to improve their environmental performance through Canada’s 2012-2020 Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Aviation. The sector’s progress towards improving fuel efficiency is reported annually under this Action Plan. The 2019 report, released in 2022, shows that Canadian air carriers have improved their fuel efficiency by 17.8% between 2008 and 2019.