Saltspring Air estimates 2,400 passengers will be affected by a plan to divert flights during the Olympics. (CBC)

Pilots who operate a small coastal airline in B.C. are warning that a plan to divert its flights for security screening during the Olympics will cause serious safety risks in winter weather.

"It will force us to fly in an opposite direction — where the winds can be much stronger and the visibility can be greatly reduced," said Saltspring Air owner St. Clair McColl, a pilot.

"And there's no place to seek safe harbour."

Saltspring Air flies four de Havilland Beaver floatplanes direct from Saltspring Island to Vancouver and back — a flight that takes 20 minutes one way.

The airline has been told it will have to transport its Vancouver-bound passengers 48 kilometres out of their way during the Olympics — up the coast of Vancouver Island — for security screening in Nanaimo, before flying east to the mainland.

Saltspring is the largest, most visited of the Southern Gulf Islands, with a population of 10,000 residents — along with another 4,000 on nearby islands — many of whom commute to and from the mainland regularly. They can use the B.C. ferry system, but that takes several hours.

McColl said the security diversion plan would triple flight times and force his planes to fly into stormier areas over open water in the Strait of Georgia. Because the pilots can't fly in the dark, he said, it would also put afternoon flights in a race with daylight.

'If we get stuck in that, it's going to be a real problem.'— Harold Kirkpatrick, Saltspring Air chief pilot

"A lot of people don't like turbulence — and you will get a lot more wind shear and downdrafts there," said chief pilot Harold Kirkpatrick.

"The water can be affected. If we get stuck in that — it's going to be a real problem.

Harold Kirkpatrick, Saltspring Air's chief pilot, says passengers might experience more turbulent flights because of the diversion. (CBC)

"There's also increased traffic. You have to worry about the planes taking off and landing in Nanaimo … with reduced visibility and bad weather. That's more cause for concern over mid-air collisions. That could be a very serious factor as well."

Passengers could be stranded

"Under this scenario, we will have to ground flights or postpone going into Nanaimo, which would also postpone other passengers coming back from Vancouver, which would mean those passengers could be stranded — with nowhere to stay," McColl said.

More than 1,600 residents and businesspeople on Saltspring have signed a petition against the plan. There are concerns it could also discourage Olympic tourists from visiting the island.

Resident Erin Porter said she has tickets to take her children to a speedskating event in Richmond, and she was counting on the direct flight to get them there.

"I have no idea how I'll do it now," Porter said. "I've got three kids and this is sort of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them. Now I am thinking ferries, the car — and we have to stay somewhere."

Transport Canada and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, along with the RCMP and other agencies, have been working for months on a plan for all air passengers coming into Vancouver during the Games to go through security clearance first.

During preliminary consultations, McColl said, airlines operating on and around Vancouver Island were advised to plan for security screening in Nanaimo or Victoria only.

Decision-makers didn't visit

"It was us against them," McColl said. "When they said, 'We have been flying around the countryside to see your operation,' I knew that it wasn't true, because we never had them on board. They never came to Saltspring.

Airline owner and pilot St. Clair McColl says he feels "bulldozed" by planners in Ottawa. (CBC)

"We said [their plan] wouldn't work — and they said, 'well, too bad, that's the way it's going to be.'"

McColl's company is one of several small operators affected. Two others, Seair Seaplanes and Harbour Air, also fly in and out of Saltspring. Harbour Air has already announced plans to cancel that service in February.

Mathieu Larocque, a spokesman for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, said the budget for the current Olympic screening equipment and operation is $17.5 million.

"We are currently finalizing our plans and are unable to disclose the cost of other specific sites until that exercise is completed," Larocque wrote in an email.

McColl said he was told in planning meetings that a temporary screening facility on Saltspring would cost about $500,000.

"They are saying [in meetings] it's too much money and the only person that can actually authorize another facility in the Gulf Islands would be [Transport Minister] John Baird," McColl said.

He has written to Baird several times, urging him to consider the impact on the estimated 2,400 passengers who would be affected during the five-week Olympic period, but he has not received a direct response from the minister.

Saltspring Island resident Erin Porter was counting on the direct flight to get to a speedskating event with her children. (CBC)

Minister of State (Sport) Gary Lunn, who is the MP for the Gulf Islands, has also asked Baird to consider the airline's dilemma.

"Given the size of the community affected, the significance of the games to that community's economy and the particular geographic challenges … I would invite you to reconsider providing Saltspring Island a temporary screening location," Lunn wrote to Baird in early September.

"This would not only be in the best interests of local residents, but I believe it would ultimately be in the best interests of the 2010 Games."

When asked in Ottawa whether he was aware of the problem, Baird appeared to be re-thinking the original plan.

Minister reflecting on concerns

"We put out preliminary regulations to seek the input of the public," he said. "We're going to be reflecting on what we heard and we will be responding in short order.

"Obviously, there's a significant amount of concerns. We've got to balance off the interest of everyone in the community as well as the interest of Olympic safety, because we want to ensure that these are safe Games for the athletes, for the people of Vancouver and for the world."

McColl said those are his sentiments exactly.

About 1,600 residents and businesses have signed a petition asking for security screening on Saltspring. (CBC)

"It is the Olympics — but at the same time we are dealing with safety here," he said, "I'm trying to do my best to minimize the risk here."

Until now, McColl said, his repeated efforts to be heard got him nowhere.

"We got the runaround — after six meetings and close to a year. The little guy is getting bulldozed."