Fort Nelson residents worry about medical care, after flight service cancelled for 3 months

Fort Nelson, B.C., will be left in limbo for at least three months, from Feb. 3 to May 3 at the earliest, after Central Mountain Air announced it was suspending service between the small town of 3,000 people and the northern hub of Prince George.

Travellers from the northern Rockies town will need to drive four hours to the nearest airport in Fort St. John, B.C., or continue on for a nine-hour drive to Prince George.

Residents who need to travel out of town to access medical services elsewhere in the province will be particularly hard hit.

Pensioner Mark Cripps, 73, and his wife, 71,says they will travel to Vancouver for multiple medical appointments in just a few weeks. No air service in town means a longer journey.

"It now becomes at least a two-week to two-and-a-half-week ordeal to take a medical bus to get to Fort St. John [and] fly from Fort St. John to Vancouver," Cripps told Carolina de Ryk, the host of CBC's Daybreak North.

The couple will have to take a bus operated by Northern Health that only runs once a week for the nearly six hour journey from Fort Nelson to the closest airport in Fort St. John.

The low level of service means the couple will wind up staying longer in their Vancouver hotel, increasing their travel costs.

"The hotel costs are quite expensive in Vancouver," Cripps said.

The long ride will be physically difficult for some.

Fort Nelson lodge owner Gail Andrews, 62, has undergone five hip surgeries over the past two years and is expecting a follow-up medical appointment in Prince George in the coming months.  

Andrews has flown to and from Prince George in the past. With no flight services available for months, she's concerned about the rough road trip home, if she requires another surgery.

"This is 12½ hours of driving [from Prince George]. It's winter, it's dangerous, and I can't do it with my hip to start with," she said.

On Jan. 15, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered the new federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra to make regional airlines a priority, along with supporting regional economic development.

Fort Nelson Mayor Gary Foster says he has contacted Peace River North MLA Dan Davies, the B.C. minister of transportation, and Bob Zimmer, the MP for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, to communicate the concerns of local residents.

"When we get to the point today where we have a regional airline that can no longer afford to fly into the northern Rockies, we're looking for that support [from government]," he said.

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