By Charles Lefebvre

UPDATE: Airport runway closed starting Monday for rehabilitation work

May 4, 2018 | 10:58 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Starting on Monday, you won’t be able to see any planes taking off or landing at the Medicine Hat Regional Airport for the rest of the month.

The City of Medicine Hat will begin the next phase of its airport rehabilitation project Monday morning, which will result in all runways at the airport being closed, and all scheduled airline flights being cancelled.

The work will see the existing pavement surface being removed, additional gravel structure being placed, and the runway and taxiway repaved.

“It’s timely, it was very much at the end of its useful life,” said Jeff Huntus, airport manager. “The airport plays a very important role in the business community and the residents that need to travel in and out of Medicine Hat. This will keep us up and running for another 20 years.”

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The work will take 24 days to complete, with construction scheduled to wrap up at 10 p.m. on May 31. Huntus says crews will be working 16-hour days, and the contractor built a cushion in the schedule in case of inclement weather.

“Crews have indicated they’re willing to do whatever it takes,” he said. “Our May 31 deadline is a hard deadline.”

Despite the runways being closed, it will be business at usual inside the airport, with airport maintenance and administrative staff, air traffic control, Avis Car Rental, Air Canada counter staff and the Front Porch Cafe all being open during runway construction.

“It’s important because other people do business that really doesn’t depend on planes coming and going, like the restaurant, like the car rental,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for airport maintenance staff to catch up on things that maybe they can’t get to when planes are coming and going, and it’s busy.

“We have a very full 24 days planned.”

While the runways are closed, Alberta Health Services has developed a plan for air ambulance care. Non-urgent transfers will be completed by ground ambulance. For urgent transfers, patients will be transported by ground ambulance to the Bow Island Airport for fixed-wing air ambulance transfer.

STARS Air Ambulance will be used for emergency transfers out of the Medicine Hat Regional Airport.