Saskatoon airport construction leads to more plane traffic over some neighbourhoods

Some people in Saskatoon may be noticing more air traffic than usual in the sky over their neighbourhoods

That's likely due to the fact that work on the Saskatoon airport's main runway is forcing air traffic to take alternate routes over the city.

“As a result of our primary runway being under construction this year, our secondary runway, which is our cross-wind runway, runway 1533, is being utilized 100 per cent of the time,” Shaun Grinde, the airports vice president of development told CTV News.

Grinde said usually the secondary runway would only see 10-15 per cent usage.

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“It’s maybe one of the reasons why citizens of Saskatoon are seeing a little bit more air traffic flying over their house this year,” he said.

The work, along with other projects around the airport, have been priced at $14 million, Grinde said.

“We’re looking at completing the ... the asphalt. We’re installing new sub drains on the runway, as well as runway airfield lighting. Also, a new instrumentation or landing lighting system on the end of the runway.”

Aside from the alternate flight paths, he says the work has not caused too many disruptions in flights.

“Overall I would say it's been quite a good news story this year. We’ve only had four diversions out of 1500 arrivals and departures all summer.”

Grinde said construction is moving along and they were expecting to open the main runway back up in the fall.

“When passengers come back and we open up the runway this fall it’s going to be a nice, smooth runway surface to land on,” he said, adding the runway improvements should last for 20 to 25 years.