The Town of Qualicum Beach has terminated the lease for new airline Oceanside Air, saying COVID-19 protocols were not followed and restricted areas were entered during a birthday party for an airline employee.
Qualicum Beach has reported the incident to Transport Canada, Arnold Schwabe, town operations manager, said Tuesday.
Oceanside Air was given 90 days notice, meaning that its lease inside the terminal building where it has its check-in counter and office will end March 3, 2022.
“Town Council did not make this decision lightly,” the municipality said in a notice posted on its website.
“While the Qualicum Beach Airport is smaller than Vancouver, Victoria, or Nanaimo, all airports are federally regulated and Qualicum Beach must operate under the same Transport Canada guidelines.
“Airports are held to a higher security standard than most public buildings and our airport is intended to ferry passengers securely to and from the Vancouver airport, as well as other surrounding airports.”
The notice said the town had received information that Oceanside Air had breached regulations and conditions of its lease during a celebration at the airport terminal on the evening of Nov. 11.
Qualicum Beach investigated, which included speaking with one of the airline’s owners and reviewing surveillance video from the terminal.
“The video footage showed Oceanside Air owners and staff in the airport terminal, over a 90-minute period, unmasked and with open alcohol. Oceanside Air did not have a liquor permit and the video footage clearly displayed open alcohol outside of their leased space, including in restricted areas of the airport, in the public terminal, and in the parking lot,” the town’s posting states.
A provincial public health order says that masks are mandatory in all town buildings, including airport terminals, the notice said.
Qualicum Beach sent a letter about the matter to Oceanside Air on Nov. 16.
“On the same day, Council and staff received correspondence from Oceanside Air indicating that the celebration was confined to the leased space only, and consisted of birthday cake and beer.
“The 90-minute CCTV video footage directly contradicts those statements,” the town said.
Qualicum Beach again contacted Oceanside Air and the company appeared at an in-camera meeting on Nov. 24 , the town said.
“The information presented by Oceanside Air, as well as in their public statements, conflicted with the information presented from the video footage.”
Town council considered the situation on Dec. 1 and contemplated a range of options, the notice said. It decided to cancel the lease inside the terminal but allow the airline to continue to operate charter flights.
Qualicum Beach Mayor Brian Wiese said he would like Oceanside Air to take ownership and be clear about what happened on Nov. 11.
He is hoping to discuss the situation with an airline representative today.
Oceanside Air began regular service between Qualicum Beach and Vancouver this summer.
Jim Novak, one of the Oceanside Air owners, launched an online petition calling on the town to reinstate its lease.
By early Tuesday evening, the petition had 751 names in support.
The locally owned airline employs 10 pilots and ticket agents, the petition said.
The town’s decision was “unfair and not in keeping with the town’s promise to support local businesses and as such, we are requesting that the town reconsider their decision,” Novak’s petition said.
Gord Gauvin, spokesman for the Qualicum Beach-Parksville Aerospace Industry Association, made up of commercial air operators in the region, said the municipality’s lease decision is “dumbfounding.”
Oceanside Air is owned by two local business people who have been active in the area for two decades and have been good corporate citizens, he said. The company has two airplanes which seat six people each. “It has been a well-received service within the community.”
Oceanside Air helped bring some local residents back from the floods in B.C., he said.
The after-hours event was held to mark a pilot’s 57th birthday with a cake and some beer, Gauvin said. The lease cancellation is “essentially going to close down their business.”
He suggested the town could have imposed a fine instead. “I would like to see the town reconsider their position.”
