- The government of Ontario is purchasing five new helicopters to serve with police forces within the province. At least two of the choppers will be Airbus H135s operated by the Ontario Provincial Police and will provide support for the Toronto and Ottawa police services. The other three aircraft will serve Durham, Halton and Peel police services. “I think it’s the best investment we’ve ever done in policing, and we just look forward to them going out there and making sure we keep our streets safe from the criminals out there,” Premier Ford stated.
- Reports from across the country indicate that there is limited production of Avgas from Edmonton’s Imperial Oil refinery. Those reports, however, are coming from regional distributors rather than Imperial Oil. A check Friday afternoon of the company’s news releases on their website makes no mention of any shortages. There is no information regarding the Avgas shortage on COPA’s website either. Flight schools, skydiving operations and tourism destination dependent on piston-engine aircraft are reporting financial hardship.
- Nova Scotia-based Chorus Aviation, operator of Air Canada’s regional airline Jazz Aviation, has agreed to sell its regional aircraft leasing division to an American investment firm for a reported $1.9 billion. Its aircraft were leased to 32 airlines in 23 counties. Major Chorus investors, including Air Canada at 13.2 percent and Brookfield Asset Management at 8.1 percent, are in favour of the deal.
- AirVenture 2024 broke attendance records – again. The annual event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin attracted 686,000 aviation enthusiasts this year, up from last year’s record attendance of 677,000. A record number of exhibitors were also attracted to the seven-day aviation extravaganza. Over 10,000 aircraft flew in for the event.