The Hangar

Welcome to "The Spotter Dude", the official newsletter of the YYZ Airport Watch Group.  We hope to publish an issue on a regular basis. The newsletter will be available via e-mail, our website and at various shops around YYZ.  We hope you find the newsletter informative and useful.

Clearance Delivery

For past issues of  The Spotter Dude please select one of the links below

June 1, 2004 - Inaugural  Issue
June 7, 2004 - Issue #2

Departure

On Tuesday August 10^th Andrew Cline and Peter Ivakitsch met with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority to introduce our group and present our Airport Watch program. We are happy to report that our meeting went exceptionally well and we are encouraged by the reception from the GTAA.  A brief summary can be found in the "Enroute" section.  At this time we would like all members to note the phone numbers provided to us at the meeting which can be used to report suspicious activity while spotting at YYZ.  These numbers are not to be abused and are not a means for members to report their presence while spotting in hopes of gaining favourable status.

416-776-3033  Emergencies ONLY
416-776-3055 Non Emergency

Enroute

Mr. James Bertram (Director of Public Safety GTAA) opened the meeting by saying that while the Ottawa Airport Watch Program has definite merits,  the program at YYZ will have to have be tailored to meet the increased demands of a larger facility.  Each airport has its own unique characteristics, we will have to address them issue by issue.

The discussion surrounding ID cards was one issue that the GTAA is reluctant to involve themselves in.  Citing concerns over the possibility of fraudulent cards finding their way into the wrong hands.  We however were told that they would not object to us creating ID cards for our own purposes and managing them ourselves.

Membership and program recognition is one of the biggies and we impressed upon the GTAA that the main objective for the program is a means for authorities to identify who is a member of our group or not. We cited examples of occurrences that some of our members have experienced in the past with various agencies. If a means of identification existed whereby the authorities knew who was who, it would go a long way in easing these occurrences.  The GTAA agreed and said they would be happy to enter our members personal information into their database.  Once implemented this would allow GTAA personnel to radio in a members name which would result with a positive ID as a recognized spotter.  We intend to pursue and propose the same concept with Peel Regional Police - Airport Detachment.

On the matter of what and when members should report suspicious activity, the GTAA stated that members will be invited to attend seminars in the near future.  The logistics still have to be worked out such as how many members can attend at any given time. Stay tuned as we'll announce these at the appropriate time.  The concept is to educate our group on airport operations and how we can help them.  We offered to reciprocate by holding information sessions for airport authorities and tenants on who we are, and what we do.  This idea was well received.

Getting the word out.  Some of you may have seen the posters that are displayed around airports in the UK?  They are directed to enthusiasts and simply state a few simple things to look out for and who to contact to report suspicious activity.  We were fortunate to have a copy and showed it to the GTAA.  We were asked to design our own poster to be used here at YYZ.  Once we have a mock up, we have been invited to arrange another meeting to discuss the final lay out.  Mr. Bertram stated that the GTAA would be willing to help us promote the program and help with spreading the word.

Another bit of good news to report at this time would be the response we received from the GTAA following our meeting ( below left),   and the response from Peel Regional Police on our information package (below right)

First let me say thank-you for taking the initiative and the time to meet with the GTAA relating to your Airport Watch initiative.  The GTAA views the proposal in a positive light and is looking forward to an affiliation based upon common interest and goals particularly in the area of security.

Further to our discussion should you wish the GTAA to address your membership on topics such as winter operations, security, wildlife control, communications etc. please feel free to contact me.  I look forward to our next meeting and seeing a mock up of your poster.  As I mentioned at our meeting security is everyones business and we welcome your additional eyes.

Welcome to the GTAA and Toronto Pearson family.

I have received your information package, thanks for that.

Please let me know the next time your having a committee meeting and I would be pleased to come along and discuss this with your group.

In the meantime if you have any other questions or issues please feel free to contact me anytime.

The Airport Watch group committee are very pleased with the progress thus far.  We firmly believe we are well on our way to establishing a program that will help enthusiasts at YYZ greatly.  There is still much work to do and all members can rest assured we are working diligently on this. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we pursue this initiative forward step by step.

We do want to remind all members, that while progress has been made, it by no means gives any one of us the freedom to do as we please. 
ALL RULES AND REGULATIONS MUST BE OBEYED.
Members are to treat authorities with respect and obey their instructions.

We are currently assigning membership numbers and looking into creating member ID cards. We are also working on creating a members handbook.  We are awaiting some additional information from the GTAA which we intend to include.

Until next time, your continued support and patience is much appreciated.

The STOC Centre

Company Ops

Andrew Cline
Brian Dunn
Pete Ivakitsch
Don McKay

Committee Director
Committee Director
Director of Communications
Graphics/Photography

E-mail:  admin@airportwatchcanada.com

Ph: 416-674-5959 - Mr. Andrew Cline

Website:  www.airportwatchcanada.com