Air Traffic Services

Last Updated: March 25, 2024

The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) regularly meets with NAV CANADA, Canada's air navigation services provider (ANSP). See below for a highlight on areas we are focused on.

Air Traffic Services
During the early stages of COVID-19, NAV CANADA launched several Level of Service studies for several airports and aerodromes across Canada receiving air traffic services. COPA was an active participant in their consultation process, advocating for the need to maintain services at our airports. Today, NAV CANADA continues to review and make changes to the Level of Service relative to air traffic services provided in many locations. Changes to airspace classification, design, and many local ATS levels, or hours, occur every year.

COPA continues to monitor these changes with the goal to make members aware of changes in service, especially when consultations are involved. 

To learn more about NAV CANADA’s aeronautical study process and upcoming studies, please click here.

Service Denial
COPA regularly receives information from our members regarding instances where they may have experienced service difficulties with NAV CANADA’s ATS units across the country. COPA has been working collaboratively with NAV CANADA to investigate these occurrences and to ensure our members are granted access to air traffic services and airspace. To address this issue, we require factual information with time, date, and specifics of the event in order for NAV CANADA to review the event. COPA members are encouraged to complete the NAV CANADA Experience Form to share their experiences with NAV CANADA – both positive and negative.

ADS-B Mandate
Through NAV CANADA, Canada became the first nation-state in 2019 to invest in satellite-based ADS-B surveillance technology. The technology promised 100% coverage of the earth, helping to provide significant safety and efficiency gains for ANSPs, search and rescue, and many other organizations. By February 2022, NAV CANADA published its mandate requiring ADS-B Out equipage for Canadian airspace with initial dates for equipage. In response, COPA published a series of articles highlighting concerns with the proposed implementation of the NAV CANADA mandate of ADS-B, such as indicating that NAV CANADA does not have the authority to mandate or to call this requirement a mandate. The association continues to provide input through both information and formal channels, including Transport Canada’s space-based ADS-B stakeholder consultation process. 

By March 2022, COPA and 12 additional aviation associations sent a joint industry letter to the Minister of Transport indicating concerns with the ADS-B requirement and the process used to implement the announced changes. By August 2022, NAV CANADA announces a delay to its ADS-B out requirement implementation dates in response to concerns voiced by COPA and other stakeholders. See installation and equipage requirements below. 

By August 2023, NAV CANADA launched the Public ADS-B Performance Report (PAPR), an online tool for pilots to check the performance of their equipment to see if they comply with the NAV CANADA ADS-B out requirement. This tool does not currently work for flights outside of Canada.