CanWest Air trying to meet the deadline for hangar space in Medicine Hat

The hangars that could work are currently owned or leased by Super T Aviation or Integra Air.

CanWest said if it didn’t have to build a new hangar it wasn’t going to and was actively searching for space.

“Shortly after the successful proponent of the RFP (request for proposals) was announced, and following the arrival of a new building package at the Medicine Hat Airport, CanWest was approached by the owner of an existing hangar,” said CanWest CEO Jake Fehr. “CanWest signed an Offer to Purchase, with the condition of a favourable environmental assessment.”

Fehr told CHAT News the agreement was with Southern Aero, the company which owns the hangar Integra operates out of.

Chris Van Galen, president of Southern Aero, told CHAT News the company had been in talks with CanWest but said there was “no valid sales agreement” and there are no longer any negotiations with CanWest.

The new fixed wing air ambulance provider said it’s also met with officials from Integra Air in Calgary over leasing part of the hangar here.

Fehr says they met with officials several times.

“Each time we met, CanWest was told it would not be a problem to co-exist,” he said. “At the November 9th meeting we were advised CanWest would receive a draft agreement from [Integra’s] lawyer, that would meet the requirements set out in the RFP as to space requirements, etc. To date, we have not received that agreement.”

Integra base manager Adam Kiess says, to his knowledge, there are no discussions happening.

“We’re not in any kind of negotiations on any purchase agreements with anybody,” said Kiess. “We don’t have the space to offer, we’re at full capacity with our own operations.”

Terri Super, owner of Super T Aviation, says they’ve also been approached by CanWest Air for both office and hangar space at least twice, but they have none available.

“They have approached us a couple of times and each time the answer has been the same, so Mr. Fehr should know that there is no space at Super T Aviation,” said Super.

With having no options on the table for existing hangar space, CanWest says it’s moving forward with a different plan.

“As no agreement on the existing facility has been received, CanWest is forging ahead with a building project that will serve the area of Medicine Hat very well,” said Fehr.

The City of Medicine Hat and CanWest are negotiating a lease agreement for a piece of land at the airport where the hangar can be built.

The land is currently not serviced, meaning deep utilities and infrastructure will have to be put in place and a taxiway will have to be built. All that work needs to be done before April 1st 2018.

CanWest said it has a contractor secured and a modular hangar ready to go that could be constructed quickly.

The company said as soon as it gets the green light it will go and dig up the space to put in the necessary utilities and a foundation for the hangar. The taxiway would take longer.

CanWest says they would put in a gravel taxiway temporarily until the planned airport shutdown from May 7th to the 24th, at which time it would go in and pave it.

The City said a lease agreement hasn’t gone before city council for approval yet, that will likely take another four to six weeks, but CanWest remains adamant it can meet the deadline.

“It is the intent of CanWest to ensure there will be no disruption of Medivac services to the City,” said Fehr. “CanWest’s General contractor for the building project is working with local engineers/sub-contractors as well as City staff to ensure no delays for the April 1, 2018 start date.”

There’s no word on what might would happen if CanWest is unable to meet the deadline.

by Leah Murray

CanWest Air trying to meet the deadline for hangar space in Medicine Hat

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