As we head towards the one month mark of the suspension of air service between Prince Rupert and Vancouver (the second such suspension of service in less than a year by Air Canada) a sign from the east, that perseverance pays off.
That as the residents of Fort Nelson receive some welcome news that their connection with points south has been restored.
Central Mountain Air, the operator of the flight between the community at the far north of British Columbia and Prince George has announced restoration of a recently suspended route, hailing the collective work of the Fort Nelson community, as well as provincial and federal officials in getting the flight back on the Destination Board.
The key element of the CMA update, the apparent cooperation of provincial and federal officials to find a solution to the situation facing the Fort Nelson community.
"The result has been that the BC provincial and federal governments worked through an approach to enable Central Mountain Air to continue to provide essential air service connectivity to Fort Nelson. These groups were eager to find a responsible solution and we admire their action."
The details towards the responsible solution that was delivered have not as of yet been revealed, though it's likely they'll be of interest to officials at Prince Rupert City Hall and at the Prince Rupert airport.
There is one significant difference between the situation in Fort Nelson and that of Prince Rupert, as the northern BC community truly is a remote one, with no alternative airport nearby such as Prince Rupert has in Terrace.
Still, if all parties could find a way to return the air service there, hopefully a similar plan can be delivered for the North Coast to return the aviation link from Prince Rupert to the Vancouver area.
As we noted yesterday, Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach raised Prince Rupert's situation in the House of Commons on Wednesday, directing his comments and questions to the Prime Minister. Though the Prime Minister did not give much note of the Prince Rupert themes of the House of Commons inquiry, focusing instead on some of the government's wider measures on aviation through these times of COVID.
Locally, there has been nothing new to share on the status of efforts to reverse the suspension, the last mention of the situation coming at a City Council session at the end of last month, where the Mayor noted that he would advise the community should the situation change.
For more notes related to aviation see our archive page here.
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