Log in & Sign up
You are not logged in.
Most Commented
Air Canada plane takes off at Dorval's Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport. (Gazette file photo)
Night flight buzz reaches Ottawa
MP tables motion calling to curb late flights out of Dorval
ELIZABETH THOMPSON
The Gazette
Friday, April 11, 2008
Air Canada plane takes off at Dorval's Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport. (Gazette file photo)
OTTAWA – Liberal MP Marlene Jennings is calling on the federal government to block night flights to and from Dorval's Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport and to consult residents of Lachine and Ville St. Pierre before going ahead with plans to test a new route for night flights.
Under the notice of a motion tabled in Parliament by Jennings Thursday, flights would only be allowed in the case of medical emergencies, delays beyond a carrier's control, adverse weather conditions or flights directly related to Canadian military operations.
"Every year, there are more and more flights going out at night," said Jennings, Liberal MP for the riding of Notre Dame de Grace-Lachine.
However, officials from the Aéroports de Montreal, which operates the airport, say Jennings's motion could hurt Montreal economically and put the airport at a competitive disadvantage with other Canadian airports.
"It would mean that from the point of view of competition, other airports like Ottawa would continue to have the right, Toronto would continue to have the right and for a reason that escapes us, we would no longer have the right," said Christiane Beaulieu, vice-president of public affairs for ADM.
The question of night flights at the busy airport has come to the fore in recent weeks when Lachine-area residents became concerned about the airports' plans to test a new departure route that would see planes fly over the Lachine train yards then turn south toward the Mercier Bridge.
Beaulieu said the airport is preparing to test the route this summer and will install microphones in key locations to determine what impact the new route is having on homes in the area.
Beaulieu said the airport already has operating restrictions overnight. For example, while planes weighing less than 45,000 kilograms can fly in and out of the airport 24 hours a day, jets weighing more than that generally can only take off between 7 a.m. and midnight and land between 7 a.m. and 1 a.m.
Other Canadian airports operate under similar rules, she said.
Jennings' motion, which would not be binding on the government, calls on the government to issue an order under the Aeronautics Act and through the Aéroports de Montréal to suspend all flights between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., except for the four circumstances spelled out in the motion.
Jennings said her motion was prompted by the airport's plan to test the new route for night flights. The new route, she said, seems to have been triggered by complaints from residents living north of the airport and in Laval about noise from night flights.
"They had too many complaints in one area, so they just decided to shift the night flights over," Jennings explained.
Jennings said she would like to see a public consultation on the proposal to test the new route, with citizens allowed to consult the facts and studies.
"There have been serious studies done in the European union that show that people who live in the path of night flights suffer from a variety of problems, including hypertension."
Jennings said she has not gotten any reaction from the government to her motion and does not know yet whether the motion will be supported by other parties in the House.
Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon could not be reached for comment.