Nav Canada’s decision to upgrade the instrument landing system (ILS) at Stephenville airport is crucial to the facility, according to Brenda Martin, chief executive officer and airport manager.
The Stephenville instrument landing system, which is approaching the end of its life cycle, is maintained by Nav Canada, the country’s provider of civil air navigation services.
Martin said an aeronautical study was undertaken during the winter of 2017 to determine the level of service requirements for the airport.
She said the outcome of the study confirmed the importance of Stephenville airport in the best interest of International Aviation Safety, perhaps best emphasized by the recent emergency landing of an American Airlines plane with a cracked windshield.
A Boeing 777 with 307 people aboard landed in late October of 2017 without incident.
Martin said a full engineering study of the instrument landing system took place just prior to Christmas.
She said as an alternate airport, Stephenville affords a unique location providing essential emergency services to all aircraft travelling between North America and Europe.
Martin said Stephenville airport’s alternate status is important to flights into Deer Lake and St. John’s as alternate flight plans have to be made for flights to those airports before they depart.
Martin recognized Gander airport is the first alternate for St. John’s airport; however, most of the time when flights can’t land in St. John’s because of weather, they also can’t land in Gander because of the same weather pattern.
She said in addition to the American Airlines emergency landing, there have been a number of incidents during the years when flights have landed at Stephenville airport on short notice.
