By Gary Watson | May 16, 2016 Estimated reading time 5 minutes, 3 seconds.
WestJet is heavily involved in the relief effort, making a minimum of 48 trips out of the oil sands to Southern Alberta with full aircraft. WestJet Photo
A massive airlift involving nearly every airline operator in Western Canada launched in response to the devastating fire that displaced thousands of people from Fort McMurray, Alta.
Air Canada and Jazz Aviation LP had completed 16 charter flights carrying 1,100 passengers as of the morning of May 7, 2016. The flights were expected to continue for the next few days.
WestJet is also heavily involved in the relief effort, making a minimum of 48 trips out of the oil sands to Southern Alberta with full aircraft.
According to Enerjet chief commercial officer Darcy Morgan, the airline had flown 15 rotations carrying 2,235 passengers as of the morning of May 7, all from the assorted oil sand company private airports.
Satellite images reveal the extent of the fire. NASA Photo
“We will continue these flights for the near future and then we anticipate a further increase in passenger flights returning residents and the necessary personnel to rebuild Fort Mac,” said Morgan.
In a further statement, he added: “The staff, management and board of directors of Enerjet send our heartfelt best wishes to all whose lives have been affected by the devastating wildfires burning in the Fort McMurray region.
“Since May 4, Enerjet has been working around the clock to provide evacuation and provisioning flights between various aerodromes in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and Edmonton and Calgary. We continue to direct all available airlift capacity to the relocation of displaced residents, workers and their families and pets. We applaud the strength and generosity of so many people and organizations that are volunteering, donating to the immediate needs of those displaced, and opening up their homes and pocketbooks for the victims of this natural disaster.”
Other companies including Flair Air, North Cariboo Air, Regional 1 Airlines and others are involved and information from them will be provided over the next few days.
An aerial shot of the smoke from the blaze, as Fort McMurray burns below. Paul Spring Photo
Air Canada faced accusations of price gouging over fares for fire evacuees, but the company subsequently clarified the situation.
In some cases, customers booking last-minute on May 3 and May 4 on flights from Fort McMurray and Edmonton paid premium fares, the company said in a statement.
This was a result of the airline’s computerized revenue management system, which automatically manages fares. The airline said it was unable to intervene in advance to manually adjust fares but has promised to refund the difference between the higher fare and the lowest advanced booking fare.
All baggage and pet transportation fees are also being waived.
Air Canada Foundation has also donated $50,000 to the Red Cross to assist with relief efforts. The airline has added over 3,600 seats out of Edmonton, utilizing its fleet of widebody Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft.
UPDATE: According to Fort McMurray International Airport staff, the airport was still closed to commercial traffic as of 3 p.m. on May 10, 2016.
No damage occurred to the main and north terminals nor runways, taxiways and apron areas. There was slight damage to an airport maintenance garage as well as some buildings along Snow Eagle Drive.
A small staff of employees led by Bill Werny, vice-president, Operations, is managing daily operations at the airport and working closely with the emergency operations centre for the region. There is still no date set for the reopening of the airport to normal operations.
