The Wabasca airport is temporarily shutting down its night flights to accommodate a major lighting upgrade, starting a larger conversation about where emergency medical helicopters are legally allowed to land in the community.
The municipal public works department informed the Municipal District of Opportunity council on Sept. 14 that crews are currently replacing the old airport lights with modern, energy-efficient LED fixtures. Because the runway lights are completely disconnected during construction, the airport is strictly closed to all night flights until the work is finished.
While the airstrip remains open for regular traffic during the day, the facility is also scheduled for a complete, 24-hour shutdown from Sept. 17 to 19 to allow contractors to finish warranty work on the newly resurfaced runway.
The temporary closures prompted an immediate question at the council table: where will the STARS air ambulance land if a resident faces a severe medical emergency?
According to the official STARS website, the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service is a Canadian non-profit organization that provides rapid, specialized emergency care and transport for critically ill patients. Their fleet of Airbus helicopters essentially act as mobile intensive care units. For remote northern communities like Wabasca, the service is an important tool, turning a multi-hour ambulance drive to an Edmonton hospital into a swift flight.
During the meeting, Councillor Darlene Jackson asked why the helicopter cannot simply land in the large, empty grass field right next to the Wabasca hospital while the airport is closed. She pointed out that STARS crews frequently land in remote areas without designated concrete pads.
“They land on grass in Peerless Lake, why not in Wabasca?” Jackson said, asking why they cannot do the same thing at the local hospital.
Chief Administrative Officer Chad Tullis explained that there is a massive legal and regulatory difference between an emergency bush landing and a permanent hospital landing zone.
While STARS pilots are highly trained to touch down on highways or in remote fields during active, unpredictable emergencies, any location that is designated as a routine, permanent drop-off or pick-up zone must meet strict aviation standards.
According to aviation guidelines set by Transport Canada, creating an official, routine landing zone beside a hospital within a built-up town requires building a fully engineered and certified heliport. Because of strict safety regulations, administration estimated that building a proper hospital helipad would cost the municipality over $1 million.
To avoid that massive price tag, council and administration agreed that the simplest and most cost-effective solution is to continue using the Wabasca airport as the primary landing zone for emergency flights.
However, relying on the airport comes with its own set of red tape involving aviation fuel.
Currently, the fuel tanks at the Wabasca airport are managed under provincial forestry regulations, which only require the tanks to be officially inspected every two years. STARS, prioritizing the safety of its aircraft, operates under a much stricter self-imposed policy that requires fuel tanks to be inspected every single year before their pilots are allowed to refuel from them.
Because of this mismatch in inspection schedules, STARS has faced barriers to routinely landing and refueling at the Wabasca airport.
To finally resolve the standoff, the municipal district has agreed to step in and act as a financial middleman. The municipality will simply pay out of pocket to have the forestry fuel tanks inspected annually.
By covering the cost of the extra inspection every second year, the municipality will bridge the gap between forestry regulations and STARS safety policies.
Tullis confirmed that this simple financial fix will allow the municipality to navigate the legal processes and better help local residents. Once the new LED lights are fully installed and the runway is reopened, the air ambulance will once again be able to land safely at the Wabasca airport and refuel without any regulatory issues.
Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter