Runway 08/26 at YYC has been closed and is now being used to park un-used aircraft, someone on the Calgary International Airport thread pointed out that there is a 77W parked on the threshold of runway 08. It should be an interesting thing to see once it gets filled up.

Ever since the parallel runway was built, that runway has probably been a glorified taxiway.

It will take more time and some details may change, but I think the deal with Air Transat is going ahead for sure.

Correct. We only use it in Chinook operations as a runway. However it doesn’t get the use it did before because lots of our corporate traffic now parks north of Rwy 29. Millionaire, and Apron 9 are new, then Sunwest, Air Partners and medevacs relocated there. With Suncor traffic out of the main terminal operated by Westjet, I’d estimate the south side traffic went from 35% of our movements to under 10%.

Then there are many of those south side arrivals who want an ILS, or don’t want to be squeezed in as a 26 arrival. When we are established in a 29/26 operation, it’s maybe only 10% of the operations. Pre-parallel, we stopped using it as a third runway the Thanksgiving weekend after we moved into the new tower (don’t ask me why I remember that date).

Possible that some airport PAX losses for March might be offset somewhat with repatriation flights? I read somewhere yesterday that over the last couple of weeks, over 1 million Canadians returned home (some early?) - many by air.

Westjet is supposed to announce - either today or tomorrow - their layoff numbers. An insider said off-record Sunday it was 2500+ flight attendants.

Imagine only cargo flights north of 60 now. NWT has banned all travel into the territory.

The ban is on non-essential travel. So residents can still fly home (but most isolate for 14 days) in Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Hay River, or Inuvik.

That makes sense given the limited medical resources in many of those remote communities.

.

Many communities in the NWT are reliant on air cargo for food. Luckily the ice roads would still be open at this time of year, but I'd imagine there would still be a skeleton network of flights within the NWT and Western Nunavut

Westjet reduces staff by 6,900... :(

https://calgaryherald.com/news/covid...-80a2dad38040/


Air Canada also furloughing up to 600 pilots...

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/busi...to-600-pilots/

Makes sense, it's almost every industry. I don't feel bad for them as almost everybody is going through this right now.

Editing to rephrase that, while I do sympathise with the employees they are experiencing the same thing as so many others now. I'm sure they all saw it coming.

Ice roads in NWT mainly do the mine sites. But I have heard they are still hauling. most mines are minimum staff right now. but hauling is still happening.

https://www.dot.gov.nt.ca/Highways/Highway-Conditions

Looks like the MacKenzie valley winter road is closed.

Plus part of the Dempster.

One of the benefits of isolation it seems.

https://news.klm.com/covid-19-klm-st...-destinations/

KLM will operate from March 29-May 3 to only YYC & YYZ in Canada. Both will be 3x weekly on a 787 and in both cases the aircraft remains overnight.

Since YYC and YYZ are WestJet hubs that gives them access to most of the major centers in Canada through their codeshares on the WestJet flights.

Interesting decision to park the aircraft overnight in Canada. I guess the way things are these days no need to optimize aircraft usage.

This was 5T's planned schedule prior to the non-essential travel ban: https://canadiannorth.com/coronavirus/

1/2 their staff are cut...some are voluntary leave, while others are early retirement. 7,100 remain.

AC pilot count cut by 600.

With the way things are headed in the US, I have a hard time believing that many transborder flights will still be operating by Easter.

The planes are overnighting most likely because the same crew will operate the return flight the next day.

And the crew only has to rest for the min time that way.

YCG now lost its YYC 6x weekly flight.
So we now have no scheduled flights in or out.

Lots of parked AC Express planes around the Jazz and AC hangars at YVR.

[IMG]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d79a63db_c.jpgIMG_7574 by whatnextyvr, on Flickr[/IMG]

Air Canada flying cargo-only flights:

...Air Canada’s first cargo-only flights departed Toronto this past week for Frankfurt, London and Amsterdam - all important business centres and connection points for cargo forwarding.

The airline is using Boeing 787 aircraft capable of carrying 35 tonnes of cargo. Shippers and freight forwarders are being charged a flat rate for both directions and Air Canada Cargo is also introducing a fractional program, so shippers who do not require a whole aircraft can book space.

The company said arrangements with shippers and freight forwarders contain clear provisions to ensure that these essential goods are being sold at fair market rates and to authorized suppliers.

The company said it is examining possibilities of domestic service as well, working with governments to assess the demand and assist in moving relief goods between multiple Canadian markets.

That work includes using smaller Air Canada Express regional aircraft to reach less-well served, smaller or remote regions in Canada with medical and other emergency supplies in support of local governments....

https://biv.com/article/2020/03/air-...freight-moving