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Posted on 08/27/2006 5:10:42 PM PDT by conservative in nyc
An unlikely candidate for federal aid, struggling airport faces an uncertain future
Gary Vey, chief executive of the Gander International Airport Authority, bristles when federal bureaucrats tell him the town's struggling airport is no longer an essential part of the country's aviation system and, therefore, an unlikely candidate for help from Ottawa.
It's an understandable reaction considering that, barely five years ago, Gander, Nfld., was lauded for its role during 9/11, when it provided safe haven for 38 commercial jetliners forced to make emergency landings on its giant runways.
In fact, Mr. Vey, 55, says Gander came close to providing an encore performance two weeks ago when British authorities uncovered an alleged plot to detonate bombs on as many as 10 jetliners bound for the United States.
"The area control centre here in Gander told me that we were hours away from having the North Atlantic shut down again," he says. "And there were 52 planes lined up to come to Gander.
"Now, obviously, I'm a bit one-sided on this issue. But I say to Transport Canada: 'What happened during 9/11? Were we then considered to be essential to aviation?' I guess those planes could have landed somewhere else that day. Or maybe they couldn't have. We'll never know."
Still, with commercial traffic dwindling and expenses outpacing revenue, Mr. Vey has no choice but to accept the possibility that Gander's airport could soon be forced to shutter its operations. In fact, he recently stood before a 100-person luncheon hosted by the Gander and Area Chamber of Commerce and warned the airport could be out of business as early as this winter unless Ottawa steps in to help.
It's a cruel irony given that Gander International Airport was once considered to be one of the most important airports in the world. After the Second World War, its location near the northern edge of central Newfoundland, well on the way from New York to London, made it a critical refuelling stop for planes flying across the Atlantic, bringing a who's who of mid-20th-century history to Gander's otherwise isolated doorstep. Sir Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra and Albert Einstein are just some of the names that grace the airport's ledgers.
But times have long since changed. Armed with long-range engines, commercial jets now fly over Gander far more often than they stop there. And Mr. Vey knows the airport's rich history is not sufficient to guarantee its future.
Talks with Ottawa regarding Gander's future are underway, but Mr. Vey says his initial dealings with Transport Canada have not left him optimistic. The challenge, he says, is convincing Ottawa that Gander's airport still serves an important role in modern aviation -- even if the role is markedly different than the one for which it was originally conceived.
For many, the town of Gander is most closely associated with the events of Sept. 11, 2001, when Washington and Ottawa took the unprecedented step of shutting down North American airspace, forcing 38 commercial jetliners to put down on one of the Gander airport's two giant runways.
Other airports accepted planes, but the impact was most noticeable in Gander as the town of barely 10,000 scrambled to give more than 6,000 surprise visitors a taste of the Rock's hospitality.
Gander's role during Sept. 11 helped solidify the airport's contention that, while its stature as the "Crossroads of the World" may be slipping, it still deserved its reputation as "the lifeboat of the North Atlantic," a place where pilots of troubled planes can set down without worrying about congested runways or foggy approaches, common at other Maritime airports.
Indeed, the ability to handle a wide range of aircraft emergencies -- everything from unruly passengers to engine problems at 35,000 feet over the dark swells of the Atlantic -- is one of the key arguments made by the airport authority for keeping the airfield at Gander open. It routinely handles about 80 to 100 emergency landings each year.
In addition to its strategic location along transAtlantic flight paths, the airport boasts that its runways are big enough to be officially designated as an alternate landing site for the space shuttle and that it offers a "complete package" of 24-hour firefighting, medical, security, customs and immigration services.
But maintaining those services costs money, which is supposed to be recouped by charging airlines and their passengers landing and terminal fees. The problem for Gander, says Mr. Vey, is that as many as half the planes that now land at the airport are operated by the military -- including transport jets and search-and-rescue aircraft, which are not required to pay landing fees under Canadian law.
Hence, he says the airport authority is trying to convince Ottawa to change its policy. "We aren't asking [Ottawa] to subsidize us, we're asking them to pay for the services they consume."
A spokeswoman for Lawrence Cannon, the federal Transport Minister, said the issue is being studied as part of a ministerial task force comprised of the various government departments that use the airport on a regular basis. A response is expected by mid-September.
Zane Tucker, Gander's Deputy Mayor, says he is "cautiously optimistic" a solution will be found to keep the airport open. He warned a shutdown of the airport would be devastating to the community since as many as 2,000 jobs in Gander and the surrounding region are deemed to be dependent on the airport and its related businesses.
But there's much more at stake, Mr. Tucker said.
"To me the airport is the identity of this town. Going back to my grandparents' days, the airport has always been there. To be honest, without the airport, I don't think the town of Gander would have ever been formed."
Built in 1936, Gander's airport was the world's largest when it was constructed. It became a busy military base during the Second World War as part of the Royal Air Force Ferry Command. Since the airport was too new to appear on maps, Allied forces were able to transport 20,000 North American-built fighters and heavy bombers overseas "under a shroud of secrecy," according to the town's Web site.
But it wasn't until the blossoming of commercial air travel across the North Atlantic during the 1950s that Gander really began to flourish. At the time, major renovations were done to the airport to better accommodate the flood of passengers that stopped in Gander en route to London or New York.
The result was a bustling terminal, in the middle of nowhere, that was filled with avant-garde artwork, designer furniture and many of the world's most famous people.
"The VIP room guest list reads like a who's who of 20th-century arts, ideas and politics," according to a piece published in the New York Times' travel magazine last year. "The Beatles first set foot on North American soil at Gander. Frank Sinatra tried to butt in line at the bar and was asked to wait his turn. Jackie O., Churchill, Khrushchev, Marlene Dietrich, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Ingrid Bergman -- the list of signatories fills encyclopedia-size ledgers."
Not surprising, locals had many stories about run-ins with the era's movers and shakers.
There are tales, recounted in the Times, of a young gift shop worker who chatted with an elderly Albert Einstein about his theory of relativity and another woman who, as a "teeny-bopper," went tobogganing with Fidel Castro and his body guards.
The opportunity for star-gazing at Gander has declined significantly during the past 40 years, but there's still a decent chance to shake some pretty important hands.
Mr. Vey, who has been in charge of the airport for a decade, says the airport still does a brisk business servicing the private jets used by world leaders, CEOs and Hollywood stars. He has personally met U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush, and seen "all the famous movie stars and famous singers."
That includes Hugh Hefner -- "Did you know he's a really short man?" -- who travels on a Boeing 707 with a Playboy bunny logo splashed on the tail and as many as a dozen Playmates in tow.
"George Clooney comes through here on a regular basis," he adds. "They all like coming here because nobody hassles them. They stop and get a coffee and an ice cream or whatever. They're just ordinary folks like you and I."
If there is a future for Gander's airport, it will be less glamorous than its past.
In addition to acting as an alternative airport in the event of emergencies, a role that is difficult to build a business model around, the airport authority is hoping to attract more commercial traffic by touting itself as a place where aircraft can put down, refuel and change crews -- known as "technical stops" in the industry -- without getting bogged down by the delays common at bigger, more congested airports.
The airport handles roughly 6,000 technical stops a year, many of which are large cargo aircraft. Fully loaded cargo planes often stop and refuel en route, reducing the amount and weight of fuel they need to carry for takeoffs.
Mr. Vey cited a recent example of a Russian-built Antonov cargo jet, one of the largest in the world, that took off from the airport in nearby St. John's amid local fanfare. But to lift off safely from the local airport's smaller runway, the plane carried only a quarter of the fuel it needed for its trip. Once airborne, it droned to the northwest, set down in Gander, topped up its tanks and took off a second time en route to Europe.
Non-aviation revenue sources are also being explored. Because the airport owns a sizeable chunk of land, the airport authority has harvested and sold timber and even mined a rock quarry to bring in extra money.
The airport is also looking at new businesses, including aircraft maintenance and overhaul work. Germany's Lufthansa says the town is on the short list for the construction of a new maintenance facility, the only Canadian airport being considered by the airline.
Mr. Vey says the airport could one day be reborn as a global maintenance centre for aircraft.
Whatever transpires, it's increasingly clear that neither the airport authority nor the town of Gander will be able to save the airport without Ottawa's help.
A source in Transport Canada said the issue is particularly complex because the government is no longer involved in the operation of the country's airports. They were spun off to not-for-profit authorities in the 1990s.
Any assistance given to Gander will probably be seen by other airports in the region as an unfair subsidy. In addition, any assistance would be tantamount to asking taxpayers to foot the bill for an airport that, by most accounts, has outlived its purpose.
Still, nostalgia can be a powerful force.
"They are sympathetic to our plight," Mr. Vey says confidently of the federal politicians involved. "And, I guess, are doing a bit of soul-searching to find out what Gander means to the country. At the end of the day, it's a decision we're all going to have to make collectively.
"I guess if Gander didn't exist people would still fly the North Atlantic, but it's still a helluva nice airport to have around."
csorensen@nationalpost.com
GANDER'S PAST
1936 Construction of Newfoundland Airport begins near Gander Lake (at the time, the town of Gander did not exist) in anticipation of growing transatlantic air traffic. Workers live in settlement camps at the airport site.
1938 The Newfoundland Airport officially opens with four giant runways, making it the largest airport in the world.
1939 Gander becomes an important military base -- particularly for the Royal Air Force Ferry Command, which used the airport to transport some 20,000 North American-built fighters and bombers overseas.
1946 The worst airline accident to that date occurs near Gander when a Sabena passenger plane crashes and kills 27 people.
1950s Gander becomes one of the busiest international airports in the world, buoyed by a boom in transatlantic air traffic. Meanwhile, construction begins on the present townsite. The municipality of Gander was incorporated in 1958 and the airport settlement was eventually abandoned.
1960s Advances in jet-engine technology reduce the need for refuelling stops at Gander. While it remains a busy place for part of the decade, commercial flights soon slow to a trickle and raise questions about the airport's future.
1967 A Czechoslovakian airliner crashes on takeoff, killing 37 people.
1985 A chartered plane carrying U.S. soldiers home from a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai desert crashes on takeoff, killing 256 people. It is the worst air accident in Canadian history.
2001 Terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 force the closure of North American air space. Gander accepts 38 commercial jetliners and more than 6,000 stranded passengers. The town's response to the crisis becomes one of the few good news stories of the day.
2006 The airport authority warns the closure of Gander may be unavoidable unless Ottawa steps in with assistance.
Ping.
Amazing...one of the few examples of appropriate federal assistance to a local entity (i.e., the benefits of its existence are provided on a contingency basis to a broader community than just the local one), and there's a fight for it!? Come on, Ottawa.
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I have been to Gander, and I didn't lose anything there. I do think the airport has great strategic value, and as such, should be maintained.
I remember when the air route was New York - Gander - Shannon - Europe. Gander Radio still broadcasts the weather forecasts for Canadian cities in Ontario east; Shannon does the same for Ireland and the UK.
The arrival of the Boeing 707-320 Intercontinental version in 1960 finally allowed most airlines to skip the Gander and Shannon stops for good.
I like the C-5 in the picture too.
I spent many nights crossing the Atlantic talking to Gander radio via HF radio. They are good people.
Agreed! What's good for Goose Bay should be good for Gander.
No...wait...
The picture is from September 11, 2001 when US airspace was closed. That's why they had planes parked on the runway.
Any word on where they would move Gander Control? Isn't that still one of the two transat ATCs, along w/ Shannon Control?
I guess they could move it to Goose Bay. What's good for Goose is bad for Gander.
It would make a great base. Miltary have used it for years. Make it official, make it 100% military.
There can never be too many forward deployment bases in the Pacific. We ARE going to need it for something very ugly someday.
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