SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A day and a half after Transport Canada grounded Buffalo Airways citing a "poor safety record," the airline stated it will continue to offer travel and freight service through chartered aircraft.

Joe McBryan sits in a Douglas DC-3, one of his favourite planes to fly. All of Buffalo Airways' flights have been grounded and it is chartering other aircraft to continue its service. - Nicole Veerman/NNSL photo

On the company's Facebook page Wednesday, it posted a message thanking customers and passengers for their support during the "unfortunate time."

"Buffalo Airways will continue to support all of our customers' travel and freight needs through chartered aircraft until such time Buffalo Airways has resolved this issue with Transport Canada," the post states.

In a news release Wednesday morning, the company also stated it will contract an independent manager to oversee operations during the suspension, which it believes will be short.

The independent manager, it stated, will allow the company to "continue to provide aviation services, particularly to those regions of the North depending upon the delivery of essential services, until the issues underlying the suspension are resolved."

Yellowknifer reached out to the company seeking clarification of how the charters would impact passenger service.

Kristine Cook, a Buffalo spokesperson, said there would be no further statements other than what was in the news release and Facebook post.

On Monday, Transport Canada suspended the airline based in Hay River until it can prove it has addressed safety concerns, the regulator stated in a news release.

In its original news release, Transport Canada stated the suspension of Buffalo's licence will only be lifted when "it proves it can keep its operations consistently compliant with aviation safety regulations."

The department, in an e-mail Thursday, stated it carried out an inspection of the airline in October that "identified deficiencies in the company's operational and maintenance control systems. Several of the alleged deficiencies in its operational control system had been identified during previous inspections."

Operational control systems ensure company actions are compliant with safety requirements for items such as pilot training and dispatching of aircraft, according to department spokesperson Julie-Anne Codaire.

Previously, the department has tried to enforce regulations by issuing fines, Codaire stated.

However, "these tools have not been strong enough to convince the company to significantly improve its safety record," she wrote.

An April 2015 Transportation Safety Board report on a crash landing at the Yellowknife airport of a Buffalo flight in 2013 was critical of the airline.

The report stated Transport Canada would uncover issues, they would be addressed by the airline and then reoccur. The report was also critical of Transport Canada in its regulatory role.

The board's report stated the department's approach to oversight "is at risk of failing to address unsafe practices and conditions."

It warned that if the approach to regulating the aviation industry was not changed, then "unsafe operating practices may not be identified, thereby increasing the risk of accidents."

Transport Canada, in an e-mailed response to Yellowknifer at the time, said it was examining the report.

In February of this year, the department had carried out an inspection of the airline that found "areas for improvement." As of April, it was working with the company to fix those issues.

"The department does not have any immediate safety concerns with Buffalo Airways," department spokesperson Andrea Moritz wrote in late April.

In response to the Transportation Safety Board's report, Buffalo stated it had retrained its operations manager, hired a consultant to assist with regulatory compliance and creating policies to ensure compliance.