Yellowknife (Dec 12/03) - NWT airlines offering medical evacuation (medevac) flights feel threatened by the recent announcement from Edmonton Airports Authority officials that City Centre Airport will be implementing a few changes over the next year or so.

Officials from the downtown airport, which accommodates medevacs to Edmonton from the NWT and northern Alberta, recently announced all scheduled flights will be cancelled and one of two runways will be shut down as of Jan. 5, 2005.

Although NWT passenger flights will not be affected, as all scheduled passenger flights already fly into Edmonton International Airport, medevac fliers are quite concerned.

The City Centre Airport is right in the heart of the city, only five minutes from the Royal Alexandria hospital. Edmonton International Airport is located outside the city, at least 30 minutes from the closest hospital.

"The City Centre Airport is very important to us for medevac flights," said Bob Schnurr, marketing manager for Air Tindi.

"That airport is critical, it's right there, close to the hospital."

Paul Laserich, head of Adlair agreed and said there is no positive outcome that could result from any of the changes that are planned.

"For the past 40 years we've been going in there (City Centre Airport)," he said. "It's very handy, very accessible. We are saving lives because of that location."

Officials say City Centre Airport will still accommodate medevacs, small charters, private flights, military and helicopter services, in spite of the changes.

However, small airlines and businesses in Northern Alberta who are directly affected by the re-routing of scheduled flights, feel it is just a matter of time before the City Centre Airport is shut down completely.

But Traci Bednard, communications representative for Edmonton Airports Authority, said there should be no concern about a complete shutdown.

"The actions that we are taking are to plan for long term sustainability of the airport," she said, noting that City Centre Airport operates under a lease agreement between Edmonton Airports Authority and the City of Edmonton.

To add insult to injury, the changes could also result in new fees for planes landing at the City Centre Airport.

There are currently no landing fees for medevac flights but there are fears that could change.

Although no fee structure has yet been established, Bednard said officials will be gathering soon to discuss that issue.

"We will be direct with what (the fees) will be once we know," she said.

At Calgary International Airport, a minimum fee of $25 is already collected from all landing planes, with the exception of medevac flights.

If Edmonton Airport Authority begins to charge landing fees similar to Calgary's rates, and doesn't grant an exemption to medevac flights, the GNWT will end up spending a lot of money every year to send patients to Edmonton for treatment.

In the 2002/03 fiscal year, statistics from the Department of Health and Social Services show there were 381 medevac flights from the NWT to Edmonton's City Centre Airport.

From April to October of 2003, 187 medevacs have already flown into the city.

With those numbers, the GNWT could end up dishing out approximately $10,000 a year for the use of City Centre Airport, assuming the landing fees are comparable to other aer airports.