WestJet Flying into YKF

WestJet has announced that they will start flying into Kitchener airport starting 14 May until the end of October. There is one flight per day arriving at 1737 and departing at 1810.

This should not have a significant impact on SOSA operations (or at least not as much as Hamilton). All flights will use runway 25/07, so the arriving 737's will likely stay north of SOSA near the 401. Departures should be no concern at all as they climb rapidly and all departures are westbound for MB, SK, AB and BC. By the time arriving aircraft descend to altitudes that would conflict with our operations they will likely be within the YKF control zone.

The SOSA Airspace committee is aware of WestJet's YKF plans and will be in contact to determine routings and try to resolve potential conflicts. We should have better details available to pass along during the spring Instructor, Tow pilot and Field Manager meetings sometime in April.

As we find increasingly busier airspace moving into our flying area, it is incumbent on all of us to continuously be on the look-out while flying and to respect the required VFR separation from cloud.

So it might be a good idea to review what type of airspace is over SOSA and what the requirements are. This might make a great question during spring check flights!