Monthly passenger traffic at the Northwest Regional Airport has been climbing comfortably compared to last year, a sign of increased interest in the economic prospects for the area, says general manager Carman Hendry.
September’s total of 21,251 people was up 11 per cent over the same month last year, while August’s 23,856 figure marked a 12 per cent jump compared to last year and July’s 22,343 total was seven per cent higher than July 2017.
Hendry says the airport has now bumped its passenger projections up to 228,000 people for its fiscal year which began April 1.
That would surpass totals of the past several years, but would not be as high as 2014 when the passenger count exceeded 250,000 during the previous economic development surge thanks to Rio Tinto’s aluminum smelter rebuild at Kitimat, the construction of BC Hydro’s Northwest Transmission Line and mining developments to the north.
And since last month’s LNG Canada announcement, the airport has been fielding inquiries about leasing and other commercial opportunities at the facility.
“Phone calls. Lots of emails. There’s been a lot of interest,” says Hendry about the airport, which markets itself as the central transportation hub for the region.
Just this summer, the airport’s governing society purchased the large blue hangar located at the ‘T’ entry intersection to the airport and has since leased it to Alberta-based ONEC, an engineering and construction company which works throughout Western Canada and which also has operations in the western United States.
That building once housed maintenance operations for now-defunct regional carrier Hawkair.
And in anticipation of continued growth, the airport has expanded its long-term parking area which can now hold up to 800 vehicles.
That expansion doubled the previous parking capacity, noted Hendry.
As well, the rental car parking area which was located beside the short-term parking area at the main terminal building has been moved to a new location beside the terminal building’s cargo handling facility.
The former rental car parking area has just been converted to a 40-spot paid lot for people who want the convenience of parking as close as possible to the terminal building, says Hendry.
“You park, go in, check in, go to the restaurant and then call us at the airport office,” he said. “It’s $20 a day and you can park there for as long as you want.”
Along with increased economic activity, the airport is also exploring the idea of displaying local artwork inside the main terminal building.
To that end, it has been canvassing the members of its non-profit ownership society — the City of Terrace, the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine, the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce and the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce — for ideas, says Hendry.
The airport society does not have a budget to purchase artwork so a revolving series of art could be an option, he says.
The original version of this story indicated the preferred parking daily rate for the newly-created new lot close to the terminal building is $6 a day. In fact, it is $20 a day.
