Why can’t Sechelt Airport operate at night?

The following are briefs from District of Sechelt’s April 16 Airport Development Select Committee.

Sechelt recently hired a professional airport advisor who pointed out potential issues at the airport, district communications manager Lindsay Vickers told Coast Reporter. They stated that the airport is unsafe for night flights because the reduced visibility affecting depth perception combined with the surrounding trees is dangerous.

Planes using the airport approach and depart relying solely on pilots’ vision and during the day pilots are better equipped to deal with unexpected occurrences such as downdrafts.

The engineering group working with Sechelt has stated that there are far too many trees in the path of the runway for the glide slope to be at four per cent, said David Douglas, Sechelt's director of financial services.

He said that the district is pushing back to the engineers to find an acceptable glide slope where there are fewer trees for them to deal with.

The glide slope is the angle at which an aircraft flies relative to the ground.

The discussion came up at the April 16 Airport Development Select Committee.

The committee had previously discussed using displaced thresholds for certain times of day.

The contracted engineers said that is not common practice, and thresholds placed will be in effect for 24 hours.

Committee members voiced their frustration with how long it is taking the engineers to develop a suitable plan.

“We need a professional opinion to vet what we're going to do,” said Coun. Adam Shepherd. “I know it's taking a long time, but we've got to have that.”

Kirn Dhillon director of engineering and operations said that depending on the engineer's schedule, he expects to hear back from them about an angle the airport could use that does not interfere with trees soon.

He explained that the plan is still at the conceptual level and that when it becomes a capital project, further details such as elevation susceptibilities will come to light.

Committee members also discussed and prioritized the “big ticket items” for the committee to focus on and provided them to staff.

Improvements to taxiways, terminal buildings, hangers and an accessible fuel system are some of the top priorities identified by the committee.

The committee is also looking to add a weather station, a septic system, and transient parking.

Separating commercial and private hangers, and adding a bus stop closer to the airport are also improvements the committee would like to see.

Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

Jordan Copp, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Coast Reporter