ATAC is asking that an equitable and verifiable financial aid package designed for regional air transport includes direct financial aid; taxes and charges relief; loans and/or loan guarantees; consumer incentives to use air services; and most importantly, implementation on an expedited basis of fast COVID-19 testing programs in lieu of quarantine restrictions that currently exist, especially for domestic operations.

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Ottawa, September 24, 2020. The Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) and its 175 Members and Industry Partners welcome the Government commitment found in yesterday’s Speech from the Throne concerning support to aviation in Canada.  

“… Government will work with partners to support regional routes for airlines. It is essential that Canadians have access to reliable and affordable regional air services. This is an issue of equity, of jobs, and of economic development. The Government will work to support this.” 

As tens of thousands of aviation personnel have either lost their jobs outright or have been indefinitely laid off, our industry has been appealing to the Government to step up and help support the Canadian aviation industry now operating at levels 15-20% from those of one year ago. High fixed costs and greatly reduced activity is putting a strain on our operators that can no longer be sustained.

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ATAC President and CEO John McKenna wishes to inform the ATAC Membership that Vice President Darren Buss has recently announced that he will be leaving ATAC in order to accept a new challenge at Transport Canada. 

Darren joined ATAC almost three years ago and in that relatively short time has managed to make a significant contribution to the work ATAC does, particularly in the area of Flight Training. He distinguished himself by the high quality of his work and will leave a lasting imprint on ATAC’s effort to serve its members, namely by his presentation to the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in support of flight training in Canada, the founding of the National Flight Training Study in cooperation with Seneca College, and initiating the tradition of “InfoShare” at our annual conferences where flight schools can confidentially share safety-related experiences and best practices with their peers. Most recently, as COVID-19 brought our industry to a standstill, Darren was responsible for a manual of suggested policies and procedures for flight training during the pandemic that received widespread adoption and praise from both flight schools and regulators. He was also responsible for the important task of modernizing our web site, which will be released in the coming weeks. 

ATAC respects Darren’s decision to accept a new challenge and we wish him the very best success in his new endeavor. Darren’s last day at ATAC will be on Friday, September 18.