Orca Airways planes are grounded but the company’s new operator is using its own aircraft from Alberta to keep the service running.
Transport Canada announced today that it has pulled Vancouver-based Orca Airways’ operator certificate because of repeated violations of safety rules.
That means the 12-year-old company’s 20 aircraft can not operate commercial flights. Orca serves Victoria, Tofino, Qualicum Beach, Vancouver and Abbotsford.
Integra Air, of Calgary, has been contracted by Orca to operate the service, John Macek, owner of Integra, said Thursday. Integra is serving Orca’s routes under its own operator certificate.
Orca is continuing to take reservations and service will continue, Macek said.
Integra has brought in a Jetstream 31, a turboprop aircraft with room for 19 passengers, and a Beechcraft King Air that can carry up to 12 passengers. A third aircraft is arriving from Alberta and that will allow Qualicum Beach service to resume. One flight was cancelled today.
Integra, operating as Bar XH, has taken over the maintenance and training for Orca’s planes, Macek said.
His company has an excellent safety record, he said.
He was disappointed that Transport Canada pulled Orca’s operator certificate, saying that his firm has brought in trained maintenance personnel from Alberta and spent close to $1 million on upgrades sought by the federal department.
Transport Canada issued a statement saying, “The department identified several areas where the company is not meeting regulatory requirements including maintenance, operational control, documentation, and quality assurance.”
Transport Canada will not allow Orca to resume commercial service “until it proves it can keep its operations consistently compliant with aviation safety regulations,” the department said in a statement.
“We will continue to monitor Orca Airway’s actions as the company works towards compliance with aviation safety regulations.”
Transport Canada said it takes aviation safety seriously and expects all air operators to comply with aviation safety rules.
Orca has a fleet of 20 aircraft. Its website showed it has been flying Beechcraft King Air 100 and 200 planes, and Piper Navajo Chieftains.
The site said that Orca is a “safety-driven, performance-based airline focused on continuous training, superior customer service, exemplary leadership and effective enterprise management.”
It has 22,500 square feet of office and hanger space at Vancouver International Airport South Terminal. Orca also provides charter and medivac services in North America, the site said.
In 2016, Transport Canada imposed fines totalling $20,000 on Orca for three times allowing an aircraft to take off with equipment that was not serviceable. Another $5,000 fine was imposed for allowing an aircraft to take off that had been subjected to an abnormal occurrence without inspecting it for damage.
At that time, a company official said he was appealing the larger fine. He stated that he had a letter from the manufacturer of the Piper Navajo saying the airline operated safely.
The airline continued to fly after shutting down one of its four tanks due to a mechanical problem, but Transport Canada says repairs should have been made to the tank first, he said.
The smaller fine involved a pilot, subsequently fired, who overshot the runway in Tofino but did not report the incident to the airline.
— With a file from the Vancouver Sun
