A shortage of aviation fuel is causing problems in B.C.
Avgas is the type of aviation fuel used in small piston engine-powered aircraft and helicopters and operates aircraft that do not use jet fuel.
The main refinery of Avgas for Canada is in Edmonton and it has been closed for more than two weeks. It is unclear when it will fully reopen.
Sky Helicopters in Pitt Meadows offers tours around southwest B.C. and staff has been heading south of the border with giant jerrycans to bring fuel back from the United States.
“We had a lot of weddings, elopements, proposals and visitors from all over the world, we just didn’t want to call and say, ‘We’re sorry, your wedding is cancelled because we can’t get our hands on fuel,'” Kevin Pearce, president of Sky Helicopters told Global News.
“So, we wanted to kind of explore every option before we did that, and we were able to come up with a solution, temporarily.”
The company that runs Boundary Bay Airport said it has been able to get enough fuel for the core businesses that operate out of the facility, but they have told transient operators, such as private plane owners, there is no fuel for them.
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“A lot of this aircraft are really critical pieces to connectivity around B.C.,” Kathy Delisser with Alpha Aviation said.
“It’s a big hit to some communities.”
Imperial Oil, which runs the Avgas Refinery, said it hopes to have some re-supply in early August.
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