Aircraft Movement Statistics

Detailed information for June 2001

The survey collects data on aircraft movements in Canada.

Data release - September 17, 2001

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The survey provides estimates of aircraft movements in Canada. The data are used by Transport Canada and NAV CANADA for measuring the workload of air traffic controllers, aircraft activity on air routes and runway utilization. The information is also used for airport planning and improvements.

Statistical activity

This statistical activity is part of a set of surveys measuring various aspects of activities related to the movement of people and goods. These surveys are grouped as follows:

Transportation by air includes records related to the movement of aircraft, passengers and cargo by air for both Canadian and foreign air carriers operating in Canada as well as the financial and operating characteristics of Canadian air carriers. These data are produced by the Aviation Statistics Centre.

Transportation by rail includes records relating to rail transportation in Canada, and between the United States and Canada.

Transportation by road includes records relating to all road transport in Canada. In addition to surveying carriers and owners of registered motor vehicles, certain programs rely on aggregation of provincial and territorial administrative records.

Subjects

• Transportation
• Transportation by air

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The Aircraft Movements Statistics cover the itinerant and local aircraft movements reported respectively by the air traffic control units at the NAV CANADA control towers, by the NAV CANADA flight service stations and by airport and carrier personnel, members of flying clubs and employees of various levels of government at airports without control towers or flight service stations across Canada.

Instrument design

Aircraft Movement Statistics are accumulated from data originating with air traffic control tower units. Because staff in these units is highly trained in factual observation and actual reporting, the entries into the database are of a very high quality. The procedures for reporting aircraft movements on the Daily Air Traffic Records by tower units are described in the Nav Canada Air Traffic Control Manual of Operations (NC-703) Volume 2, Paragraph 2420 to 2422.11. Definitions for terms used in these paragraphs can be found in Volume 1, Part 1 General Paragraph 107 of the Manual. To maintain uniformity in the reporting of source data, the Aviation Statistics Centre (ASC) issues air traffic control units with an "Air Traffic Designators" handbook (TP-143) showing the official Transport Canada aircraft type designators and the designators of various domestic and international air carriers. This handbook and another titled "Canadian Location Identifiers" (TP-667) listing various airport codes serve as a reference to ensure the reporting of the proper aircraft identity and the point of origin and destination of flights. Furthermore, extensive editing cycles are part of the computer processing programs. All identified errors are corrected by ASC editing staff.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

Data sources

Data are collected directly from survey respondents and extracted from administrative files.

The records are completed daily, based on a twenty-four hour clock running from zero hour to 23:59. The times recorded are Greenwich Mean Time (GMT); however, published statistics are shown in local times. The records are transmitted to the Aviation Statistics Centre (ASC) by airport personnel. Hard copies are kept by ASC, for archive purposes, for two years. Computer tapes containing the records are kept on file for an indefinite period. The Aviation Statistics Centre maintains a data bank of current information on all registered aircraft. The storage of this information allows for a reduction in the reporting burden of the survey respondents and limits the element of human error associated with the preparation of source documents. The data in the bank include registered aircraft identifications and their corresponding aircraft types, gross take-off weights, types of power plant (piston, jet or turboprop); whether the aircraft are fixed wing, helicopters or gliders. The data also provide a basis for identifying type of flights (commercial, private and government) and the geographical area in which the flights take place. The data bank also includes an Airport Environmental file against which the airport category is checked: the reported runway is validated and the time difference between GMT and local is allocated.

Estimation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential.

If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data. Data for a specific industry or variable may be suppressed (along with that of a second industry or variable) if the number of enterprises in the population is too low.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Estimates are provided for the reference month and the previous 12 months are revised if necessary. The data are not seasonally adjusted.

Data accuracy

For aircraft movement statistics originating from airports with control tower or flight service station, the quality of the data is judged to be very high due to the staff, highly trained in factual observation and actual reporting, working in these premises. For aircraft movement statistics originating from airports without control towers or flight service stations, the quality of the data is judged to be very good, as survey respondents in this case are not as trained as staff in control towers or flight service stations and are frequently performing more than one assignment.