Nav Canada Increases ATC Service Charges

Nav Canada has revised its air traffic control service charges as part of its ongoing effort to reduce the pandemic-related shortfall it must recover. The overall average net increase in service charges of 1.92% includes an average base rate increase of 2.04% and an average temporary rate decrease of 2.25%.

The revised service charges, effective September 1, are based on several new definitions. For example, “recreational purposes” means use of an aircraft that is solely private and not connected to any business, commercial, or government activity, and is not a high-performance aircraft. “High-performance aircraft” means an aircraft that has a flight service ceiling that falls within Class A airspace. Class A airspace for the purposes of this definition begins at 18,000 feet above sea level.

Another amendment removes the use of “typical” weight and reference to the Canadian Civil Aircraft Registry and instead refers to the aircraft’s maximum takeoff weight when determining the weight used to calculate these charges. The proposal to revise charges was released on May 22. Nav Canada said it reviewed the responses and answered all stakeholders who participated in the notice period.

“Together, these adjustments support Nav Canada’s continued investment in safety, service delivery, and modernization while enabling the measured rebuilding of the rate stabilization account (RSA),” said the air navigation service provider.