Lois Torfason and her husband live on the southern tip of the Springbank Airport, and they are concerned that a move to lift nighttime takeoff restrictions on small jets could lead to further noise disturbances for those residing close to the airport.
Torfason, who has sat on the Springbank Airport Noise Consultative Committee for the past seven years, said she was notified at a June 24 meeting that the restrictions would be lifted, potentially as early as July 1.
On July 8, Torfason told the Eagle she was notified by Springbank Airport that the nighttime small jet takeoff restrictions would be lifted as of July 13.
“At the moment, we don’t want to pull the restriction until we’ve had the chance to make everyone fully aware that this is happening,” Larry Stock, Springbank Airport general manager with the Calgary Airport Authority, said in an interview last week with the Rocky View Weekly.
“We had hoped they would at least listen to resident’s concerns at the community meeting on July 15,” Torfason said of a scheduled meeting to take place in Springbank next week hosted by the Noise Consultative Committee.
At present, small jet departures are not permitted between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. on weekends.
The Springbank Airport Business and Pilots Association (SABPA) has been advocating for these restrictions to be lifted for several years and released a review document in June 2014, which, in a nutshell, argues that turbofan jet aircrafts emit less noise than other machines that are permitted to take off during nighttime hours.
The review indicates that small jets produce anywhere from 58.3 to 71.8 decibels of noise during takeoff, while turboprops give off 57 to 78.3 decibels and light piston-powered aircraft, 51 to 74 decibels.
This argument, however, does not put Torfason’s mind at ease.
“The ones already permitted (to take off) are already waking us up,” she said, adding that her and her husband are forced to sleep with earplugs to block most of the noise.
Torfason pointed to a study done in 2009, where the SABPA indicated that the average noise output from jet departures was well below a level for concern, but she highlighted that the study failed to mention the spikes in decibel levels when jets and other aircrafts were taking off – these spikes are what Torfason and area residents are concerned with, as these 70-75 decibel bursts are what are waking them in the night.
In 2011, restrictions on jets landing at Springbank Airport during nighttime hours were voided, a move Torfason said she agreed with, since it made sense for those coming into the area from other locations that did not have similar restrictions on small jets. Prior to that, incoming small jets were diverted to the Calgary International Airport.
“The pilots swore they would not ask for takeoff restrictions to be lifted,” Torfason added, saying that promise was quickly thrown to the curb.
Another issue raised by the SABPA in its 2014 review was the airport’s ability to accommodate modern business travel, saying many business people must depart the airport prior to 7 a.m. to arrive at their destination on time.
Stock said corporations who fly out of Springbank have struggled with the restriction on departures because it limits when they can schedule meetings in Eastern Canada, and it has caused problems with blocked times at the U.S. border.
“We’re not talking about 737s, either,” Stock said. “These are light corporate jets, and quite frankly, they produce less of a noise signature than the aircraft on the field that have no restrictions at all.”
Based on an operator survey, the 2014 SABPA report estimates that there would be 14 movements (takeoffs) from the airport per month, with the majority being prior to 7 a.m.
Torfason, however, argues that once the door is opened to nighttime jet takeoffs, that number will only rise, estimating that there could be upwards of 60 small jet takeoffs each month if the restriction is lifted.
She points out that since the Calgary Airport Authority took over the Springbank Airport in 1997, and moved all of its small craft to the more rural location for both business and safety reasons, there has been an ongoing eroding of takeoff and landing restrictions ever since.
Restrictions on all airport movements used to be in place at Springbank between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., but have slowly been lifted over time.
“Once you open that gate, they will not close it,” Torfason said of her reluctance to agree to the nighttime small jet departures.
Torfason said she was pleased with how helpful Springbank Airport general manager Stock has been through this process.
“We do try to work with the community, that’s why we have this committee,” Stock said of the Noise Consultative Committee. “But at the same time, we are an evolving airport and we have to accommodate our aircraft.”
According to Stock, a recent Statistics Canada report shows that as of October 2014, Springbank Airport is the sixth busiest airport in Canada – behind Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montréal, and Ottawa. With 80 per cent of movements at the airport related to training, the facility is currently the busiest training airport in Canada.
“This is our role, and we are looking at being able to provide an opportunity for the tenants who have invested in this airport,” Stock said. “This is a very significant piece of aviation infrastructure in Southern Alberta – it’s heavily invested in, and the authority considers it to be without a doubt the premier general aviation airport in Canada.”
A large part of Torfason’s issue with this matter is how quickly the departure restrictions were going to be lifted, and the apparent lack of public consultation.
Torfason said the only attempt to notify the public was for the Calgary Airport Authority to place a single ad in the Rocky View Weekly, an effort she believes is not enough.
Torfason also said she was informed that the lifting of restrictions on nighttime takeoffs would be implemented on a trial basis, but that she was told that there was no scenario where the move would be reversed.
“A ‘trial’ implies that there can be more than one outcome,” Torfason said, adding that she feels that the ‘bare minimum’ is being done for residents living around the airport, who all have a lot invested in their properties and some in ranching businesses.
The Springbank Airport opened in 1971. Many residents were already living in the area, including Torfason’s husband’s family, who homesteaded their current residence in 1910. Torfason has lived at the home with her husband since 1996.
Residents who want to learn more about the proposed small jet departure changes can attend a public meeting July 15, at 7 p.m. at the Springbank Heritage Club.
With files from Jessi Gowan, Rocky View Weekly.
