STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.
By Shaun Penner

Airport sees higher than expected growth in 2018

Feb 13, 2019 | 4:30 AM

The Grande Prairie Airport saw the total number of travelers “take off” more than expected in 2018.

438,975 passengers went through YQU this past year, an increase of 8.1% from 2017. That total falls just shy of the record set back in 2014, of 445,685 passengers.

Airport Commission CEO Brian Grant sees a couple of reasons for the up-tick in total travelers.

“One was the change in the American dollar and the travel habits for leisure traffic, which over the summer was busier than normal,” said Grant. “And the economy in general. I know some people are feeling that it is not moving that quickly, but certainly our numbers are showing that things are brisk.”

The airport also saw a total increase in the number of departures and arrivals last year. 3,609 flights took off or landed in the Swan City, thanks to increased services from both WestJet and Air Canada.

With those as the only two regular carriers at the airport, Air North recently did a test run this past weekend, offering flights to and from Vancouver. Grant would like to see other airlines also do trial runs at YQU.

“We are certainly working (with these other companies) to try to find some niche markets and special products. Air North certainly seems interested and we are talking to a couple of others, but you never know until they say, ‘we’re coming and we’re going to take a shot at it’, but we are certainly beating the pavement all the time looking for them.”

Grant notes the biggest step in securing new airlines is to demonstrate that the airport has the capacity and resources to handle extended traveler and flight numbers. He says the airport is prepared to handle that.

Despite some concern about traveler totals entering January, those numbers increased from January of 2018 by eight-and-a-half to nine percent. Grant sees the rest of 2019 as a positive economic year for the airport.

He also hinted that the airports plan for the next 5, 10 and even 20 years could be rolled out within the first quarter this year.

“I think you’re going to see some activities coming up,” states Grant. “We’re going to be out, trying to make sure everybody understands the direction and the vision we have. We look forward to a very productive 2019.”

The Grande Prairie Airport currently sees an average of around 1120 seats per day available for flights to and from Calgary, as well as 550 seats with service to and from Edmonton.

by Shaun Penner