Airspace restrictions have been placed over both Toronto and Vancouver around FIFA World Cup match times, as Norad conducts what it calls "air defence operations."
Capt. Rebecca Garad, a spokesperson for the North American Aerospace Defence Command with the Canadian Armed Forces, said Nav Canada was implementing restrictions on low‑level visual flight traffic, both for the Vancouver Harbour and the Toronto Billy Bishop control zones that are near each city's downtown core.
They encompass both BC Place Stadium and Toronto Stadium, better known as BMO Field.
Garad said Monday the temporary airspace restriction would be active for three hours before and after each game.
She said that while Norad did not establish the restrictions, it "will be conducting air defence operations during match periods in co-ordination with federal and local partners."
"If an airborne concern were to arise, Norad would lead a co-ordinated response consistent with its mandate for aerospace warning and control across North America."
The measures were in place "to ensure the safety and security of the public" as Norad aircraft may be airborne during game times "to maintain a continuous aerospace control presence."
Nav Canada, which runs Canada's civil air navigation, said the airspace restrictions were established under an advisory restricting civilian flights conducted under visual flight rules, although police, medical and "limited civilian traffic" may be permitted.
Maryam Amini with Nav Canada said the measures were established by Transport Canada as the civil aviation regulator, and Nav Canada's job was to manage air traffic under that framework.
Drone flights were also restricted over Toronto Stadium and BC Place, as well as the official FIFA Fan Festival sites in both Toronto and Vancouver, and various team training locations.
While the advisory went out on May 28, the match-day control zone restrictions appeared to catch some unawares.
Seair Seaplanes president Jared Williams said they only received notification of the restrictions on Monday, and it came as a surprise considering that tour planes were flying over Vancouver during the city's first World Cup match on Saturday evening.
"There was discussion of potential airspace closures I would say 30 days ago," Williams says. "But closer to the actual game days and stuff has come, and we didn't hear anything else — other than all of a sudden, just today, this kind of just got sent out.
"It was pretty last minute for us, to all of a sudden start cancelling tours or having to rejig some of our tour schedules, etc."
He said the airspace restrictions would affect some of the tours the company operates.
"That's what we're being told so far," Williams says. "So hopefully, this doesn't evolve into something more than that, but it looks like commercial operations and harbour operations will be able to continue."
Seair operates up to 20 air tours over Vancouver daily, and Williams said they have begun rebooking customers due to the airspace restrictions.
He said while there was a financial impact from the flight restrictions, the main concern of operators in Vancouver's harbourfront was the potential for the restricted airspace to grow and affect harbour takeoffs and landings.
"It'd be huge," Williams said of the financial damage and disruptions if the harbourfront airspace were to be closed during games. "Not only does that shut down tours, it then starts to impact scheduled services to the islands, to Nanaimo and Victoria, etc.
"Our priority is always safety and security, so we certainly will abide by any of the recommendations. But we hope that they consult with the operators before doing anything further beyond this."
Harbour Air, which runs seaplanes out of the harbour, said its operation "continues to run as normal as commercial air service is exempt" from the notice.
"We remain supportive and operate in compliance to the security measures taken to ensure the safety of the FIFA World Cup games," the company said in an email.
The Canadian Armed Forces has not released the details of the size and scale of their Norad-related activity in Vancouver and Toronto for the World Cup, citing operational security reasons.
It says actual costs will be released 90 days after operations end, or later.
Vancouver is slated to host six more matches after the Australia-Turkey game that took place Saturday, while Toronto has five more after hosting Canada's opening draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina last week.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
