It appears not just West Island residents living in communities close to the airport will be affected by new flight paths being proposed for jets flying into Montreal Trudeau International Airport.
NAV Canada, the federal agency that oversees air traffic control across the country, is introducing a package of new arrival routes, which take advantage of satellite-based navigational aids.
The new arrival routes are expected to reduce jet fuel-burn by 5.4 million litres annually and greenhouse gas emissions by 14,300 metric tonnes while making flying safer. The changes are part of a wider overhaul of the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal corridor.
However, the new arrival routes will mean various parts of Montreal Island unaccustomed to air traffic will end up with more planes flying overhead, in some cases, at an elevation of 3,000 to 6,000 metres.
"That's why we have put out detailed maps," said Ron Singer, a NAV Canada spokesperson. "If you know where you live ... you can determine how the changes could affect you."
Residents with concerns about the new routes have until Sept. 30 to file comments online with NAV Canada.
"Nothing has been changed yet," said Singer. But NAV Canada is hoping to make the changes in early 2012, he added.
The new routes can be seen in a series of maps posted on the federal agency's website, www. navcanada.ca. Click Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal airspace review in the left column and, then, follow the page to Montreal. Existing arrival routes for each of the Dorval airport's runways are illustrated on one set of maps and the proposed new flight paths are shown on a second set of maps.
Once you find a landmark that you can identify, it's easier to follow the new flight paths. For each of the airport's runways - 24 left, 24 right, 06 left, 06 right, 10 and 28 - there are several different arrival paths, depending on which direction the plane is coming from.
"My impression is there is no big changes for Pointe Claire," said Mayor Bill McMurchie.
But the situation may be different further away from the airport, he said, although the planes would be at a higher altitude at that point.
St. Laurent Borough Mayor Alan DeSousa said the situation is much the same for St. Laurent.
At the last meeting of Aéroports de Montréal's soundscape committee at the end of August, De Sousa said, he was shown maps of the arrival routes as was fellow committee members, McMurchie, Philippe Roy, the mayor of Town Mount Royal and Mayor Edgar Rouleau of Dorval.
Since then, De Sousa said, he is under the impression that ADM has held information sessions for elected officials of other municipalities that will "possibly" see changes in the skies overhead, including Verdun, LaSalle and the Sud Ouest borough for southern arrival routes and Île Bizard, Senneville and Ste. Anne de Bellevue for northern arrival routes.
"The idea is that everyone who may be affected, however minimal, should be told," De Sousa said.
The Gazette has requested the full list of municipalities contacted by ADM and informed of the arrival routes changes that may affect residents.
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