Major fee hikes and service reductions predicted for regional and community airports without federal assistance
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MEDICINE HAT — Canada’s national air carriers captured most of the headlines after curtailing many flights and laying off thousands of staff. But the chair of a group representing regional and community airports, including the Medicine Hat airport, says they’re facing a dismal future without government help.
Brian Grant is the chair of the Regional Community Airport of Canada. He says smaller airports have seen reductions in passenger travel of 70 to 90 per cent in this pandemic, with a similar drop in revenue.
Grant says they are now in survival mode, having used up any available reserves, and without federal assistance rates and fees charged to air carriers and passengers will need to go up by 45 to 60 per cent in the new year.
“We’ve come down to the point now of having to look at which infrastructure we would close, which infrastructure we would reduce maintenance on, just simply to try to save as much as we can to survive”, said Grant.
