By Brady Bateman

Freezing skies

Fog and cold cause trouble for Prince Albert Airport

Feb 10, 2019 | 12:00 PM

A brutal blast of artic air has been making life difficult for many Prince Albert residents this past week, with temperatures nearing -45 C, and large amounts of dense, freezing fog looming in the air.

The weather has been causing issues for many, including those who were trying to fly in, or out of the Prince Albert Airport.

Several flights have been delayed or cancelled in recent days according to Corey Nygaard, manager at the P.A. Airport. Nygaard told paNOW that although the cold weather hasn’t caused many issues for the airport itself, the airlines are the ones who are impacted.

“Fog means that flying is very limited. You are able to land with low visibility, to a certain degree, but it’s definitely been below our tolerances,” said Nygaard.

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“P.A. is equipped with a category one instrument landing system…right now the airplanes aren’t able to see the runway lights within enough distance to be able to land.”

De-icing is another major concern for airlines, according to director of flight operations with Westwind Aviation Andy Cook.

“It’s certainly affected us…we do several flights per day through Prince Albert and because of the geography of Prince Albert, its unique in that it’s at a lower elevation, the airport is kind of at a bottom of a bowl if you want to think of it that way,” said Cook.

“That’s the problem for the airport, we’ve had situations where it’s -37 C in Saskatoon, but -43 C in Prince Albert.”

Cook noted that most airplanes are limited to -40 C, making it impossible for several flights to leave the airport in recent days.

Visibility has also grounded several flights in recent days, as fog tends to linger for longer durations in lower elevation areas like the P.A. Airport.

“When the airplanes are sitting outside in temperatures colder than -40 C, exposed hydraulic lines to things like brakes can crack and fail, and also it’s exceptionally dangerous for our staff who are working out in these temperatures.”

Cook added that de-icing of airplanes is limited in temperature as well.

“The type of de-icing we do in Prince Albert right now is what we call Type One. It’s an orange fluid that we spray on the airplanes that removes any ice that has formed on the wing or tails,” said Cook.

“That fluid is kind of like the anti-freeze in your car, it works down to a certain temperature but not below. That fluid works down to -33 C, but if it’s trying to be dispensed at -34 C or greater the fluid doesn’t have the necessary properties to remove the ice.”

Cook encouraged anyone who is booked to fly in or out of the Prince Albert Airport with Westwind to stay updated on cancellations or delays of flights.