b'48 YLW OPERATIONSshut us down, recalls Hall. We had no instrument proceduresout, but that was not the best situation because the fires were and no VFR procedures. impacting some of the highways as well, says Samaddar. On Aug. 18, NAV CANADA declared a non-discretionaryDuring that time, airport officials noticed that the air closure airspace closure, and the area around YLW was protectedradius established by federal authorities included an important for firefighting activities only. We became a ghost town, Hallground-based non-directional beacon just south of the airport remarks solemnly.that regulates engine-out and missed-approach procedures. Meanwhile, authorities urged 10,000 people to evacuate the Kelowna area. With no flights allowed at the airport and only twoIt Pays to Askroads into and out of the city, evacuating was difficult. The carHall asked officials whether the border of the closure radius rentals did a very brisk business to help people get cars to drivecould safely be moved a couple hundred meters further away, and officials readily granted his request. By doing that, it allowed us to open additional procedures the airlines could use to depart and arrive, he explains. It was very valuable for the airport to be part of that discussion, because moving that boundary just a little bit provided a very positive impact on our operations.Because firefighting aircraft were only operating during the daylight hours, airport officials literally turned YLWs operations upside down, pivoting from daytime passenger flights to nighttime only. On Aug. 20, the airport reopened for passenger traffic from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Firefighting aircraft continued operating during the day, Nighttime operations became an opportunity for us, says Hall. Working with all parties involved, we were able to pivot and introduce flight activity overnight. We switched from a day primary operation to a nighttime primary operation. We rolled out flights with the carriers beginning on Aug. 20 for several days. We brought in staff overnight, airlines opened up overnight, we had concessions opening up in the middle of the night and we had security screening in the middle of the night.All campus partners worked well together to re-establish some normalcy, he reports. Switching from day to night operations required time for various partners to marshal the needed staffing and address challenging logistics. For instance, aircraft that should have been at YLW had been relocated to their home bases.Coming in [and departing] by air was still the most viable option, he says. A lot of people werent comfortable driving over some mountain passes knowing there was so much fire activity in the region. Returning some flight activity to the airport was a huge benefit to the community, and were proud how our campus partner team rallied to do that, because there were those who needed to return to the region and those who needed to leave.May | June 2024AirportImprovement.com'