Story ID: 
Nav Canada Proposes Continuing Fee Decrease
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: Traffic growth and projected growth has made the 0.4 percent fee increase unnecessary.
Word Count: 276

Under a NavCanada proposal, aircraft operations in Canada will continue to benefit from reduced fees that went into effect initially last year. The proposal would decrease rates by an average of 0.4 percent, effectively continuing the one-year temporary rate reduction that was implemented on Sept. 1, 2017. Nav Canada, the company that operates the country’s ATC system, said that “on average, our customers will pay about the same rates in Fiscal Year 2019 as they did in Fiscal Year 2018.”

Traffic over the past year has grown at a rate greater than forecast, according to Nav Canada. The strong traffic results in the current fiscal year coupled with traffic growth projections for Fiscal Year 2019 has, in effect, enabled the company to cancel the 0.4 percent rate increase that was set to begin on Sept. 1, 2018, upon the expiration of last year’s temporary reduction. 

Effective Sept. 1, 2018, the proposed base rate revisions for each ATC service are as follows: terminal: 1.4 percent increase; en route: 2.2 percent decrease; NAT: 5.2 percent increase, and international communications: 1.8 percent increase. Despite the increases shown, overall, the proposed base rate revisions represent an average 0.4 percent decrease. Fees also vary depending on aircraft gross weight and type of powerplant.

“While we are keeping our rates low, Nav Canada is enhancing air traffic services,” said Neil Wilson, president and CEO. “In Fscal Year 2019 the company will begin trialing space-based ADS-B surveillance technology in its ATC operations for both domestic and North Atlantic oceanic airspace. This will significantly increase safety as it will allow for aircraft tracking in airspace currently without surveillance.”

Comments on the proposal may be submitted no later than July 31, 2018.