A spokesperson for Transport Canada says the absence of Victoria International Airport on a list of ‘international’ airports does not impact its ability to handle international flights.
“Not holding this official designation does not prevent the airport from receiving international flights, nor from using ‘international’ in their corporate name,” said Sau Sau Liu, senior communications advisor for Transport Canada.
She made that comment after the airport’s name did not appear among a list of 13 Canadian airports currently designated as international. The list itself appears in a circular released in late January.
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Liu said the circular gives the listed airports confirmation that they meet the requirements to be designated as international airports in aeronautical publications, as per International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Convention.
Airports are responsible for providing the necessary documents to correctly reflect their status in aeronautical publications, she said.
“A provision in the (circular) does not constitute an official change in status, but allows airports that are of the opinion that they meet all requirements for a designation as ‘International’ to make a request for approval to Transport Canada Civil Aviation,” said Liu.
Should the department receive the necessary documents, it would then assess the airport, she added.
The circular defines an international airport as an airport of “entry and departure for international commercial air traffic, where the formalities incident to customs, immigration, public health, animal and plant quarantine and similar procedures are carried out.”
Rod Hunchak, director of business development and community relations for the Victoria Airport Authority, said earlier that the airport is currently compiling the necessary documents to submit them by June 30.
He had predicted earlier that the airport won’t lose the designation, citing the presence of various services.
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