Nav Canada has canceled plans to decommission the ILS at Stephenville, NL Airport and COPA was among those who asked the air navigation services provider to take a second look. Nav Canada was set to pull out the ILS because it’s so infrequently used but as COPA and many others pointed out, it’s a valuable alternate for St. John’s. There was a good example in late October when an American Airlines Boeing 777 made an emergency landing there with a cracked windshield.

“It bears recognition that the low CYJT IFR traffic levels would not normally support the retention of the ILS; however, its importance in supporting CYJT as a regional IFR alternate was highlighted through the consultation process,” said Marcel Pinon, the manager for level of service and aeronautical studies at Nav Canada. “As a direct result of stakeholder feedback the current ILS equipment is to be retained and replaced in 2018.”