Re-Defining Sustainable Aviation: A Message From COPA President & CEO

 

This article by COPA President and CEO, Mark van Berkel, was originally published in the July/August issue of Flight Magazine. To read the full magazine issue, click here. (Access restricted to members)

A term that circulates frequently in the aviation community and the industry at large is “sustainable aviation”. That term is often connected to alternate aircraft fuels, carbon footprint reduction, electric aircraft, and efforts to reduce the environmental impact. These are important points to consider as we move forward but I like to think of sustainability to mean much more than that.

Sustainability means a state where we meet the needs of the present without sacrificing the needs of the future. 

There are other slightly differing politically charged definitions, but that is not the purpose of this message. From the perspective of private aviation, what we need is the ability to continue to fly our personal aircraft today, but be assured that we will still have private aviation in the future. I am not specifically meaning the same types of aircraft (technology is evolving rapidly), but the ability to still have private aviation as a tool at our disposal and our enjoyment. We want to see the advancement of technology and the delivery of the promised efficiencies. We also need to ensure that there are people trained to meet the future needs, and that there are airports and infrastructure in place for the future generation of Canadian aviators.

In essence, members of COPA are the self-proclaimed stewards of Canada’s aviation industry of the future. We, the members of COPA are responsible to make sure that private aviation and general aviation continues to exist for future generations in Canada. You are a member of COPA today, to ensure that there is an aviation industry in Canada for tomorrow. COPA is where sustainable aviation in Canada starts.

General Aviation in Canada is the training ground for all the pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers (AME) in Canada. Every major airport in Canada started as a small General Aviation airport. Without General Aviation today, there will be no aviation industry in Canada tomorrow. To prove my point, the reason we have so many foreign pilots training in Canada today because in many countries General Aviation does not exist.

I thank you for being a member of COPA, and I ask you to share this message (and the magazine) with others you know who care about the future of aviation in Canada to consider joining us. COPA is the only national organization in Canada that represents the interests of General Aviation, and our strength is our membership.