The owner of King George Airpark in Surrey says the owners of the land on which the airpark operates have granted a two-year extension to his lease. The owner of the land in Surrey on which King George Airpark has operated for 36 years announced in May that he’s not renewing the lease with the operator. Airpark operator Arnold Klappe said the extension was granted shortly after the original announcement that the property will be planted in blueberries. The facility is home to about 40 aircraft and a busy ultralight flight school. The operators of the airport are now looking for another location. Since the airport is privately owned, there is nothing that can be done legally to prevent the owner from changing the use of the land but COPA is engaged in opposing the unannounced closure of Barkerville Airport in central B.C.

Barkerville is owned by the provincial government’s Heritage Branch, which also operates the nearby historic site. It was closed in mid-February and the only notice was a NOTAM. Barkerville has a paved 2700 x 40-ft. runway and was open to the public and staffed daily. As part of COPA’s ceaseless efforts to maintain Canada’s aviation infrastucture, it commissioned a study quantifying the economic impact of general aviation airports.