Nav Canada has announced approval by its Board of Directors of
a proposal to eliminate a temporary discount on air navigation service charges,
effective January 1, 2002. (See, “Nav Canada to return to full fees,” COPA
Newsletter, November 2001.) This decision is part of an action plan to deal with
an anticipated $145 million revenue shortfall during the current fiscal year,
from September 1, 2001 to August 31, 2002, due to significant declines in both
actual and projected traffic. This will return charges back to the base levels
established in September 1999, leading to a six per cent average increase in the
cost of air navigation services provided to air carriers and other aircraft
operators.
With respect to the annual and quarterly charges, the original rate reduction
was implemented on March 1, 2000. Consequently, the effective date for
termination of the temporary adjustments will be March 1, 2002.
Light aircraft owners who are billed annual charges will be sent invoices in
March 2002. For aircraft with a gross take-off weight of 0.6 to 2.0 metric
tonnes (1,320 to 4,400 lbs), the annual Nav Canada fee will return to $58. The
$3 temporary reduction adjustment will be eliminated. Owners of non-private
aircraft over 2.0 to 3.0 tonnes (4,400 to 6,600) will lose an $11 reduction and
be charged $195 per year. Aircraft under 0.6 tonnes are not charged by Nav
Canada. For more information, contact Nav Canada Customer Service, Tel.:
800-876-4693, or Internet: www.navcanada.ca.