It was a poor summer, as expected, for passenger volumes at Kamloops Airport.

Figures released this morning shows  a decline of more than 80 per cent in July, August, and September when compared to passenger volumes in the same months in 2019.

July saw 4,675 passengers while August saw 5,293 – a decline of 83.5 per cent and 82.48 per cent respectively from last year. September saw another 4,265 passengers processed –  a drop of 83.70 per cent from 2019 levels.

“It is a slight improvement from earlier on in the pandemic when we were down approximately 97 per cent,” YKA Managing Director Ed Ratuski said. “It’s recovering, but very slowly.”

In all, there were 14,233 passengers at YKA during the third quarter of 2020, compared to 84,748 during the same three months in 2019.

Ratuski says the airline, aviation and tourism industries in Kamloops continues to be affected by COVID-19, although flights operated by WestJet Air Canada and Central Mountain Air are slowly returning to Kamloops.

“Right now we’re down probably about 60 per cent in terms of flights,” he added. “We have two flights daily to Calgary, one daily to Vancouver, and three times weekly to Prince George. They are running at about 70 per cent capacity right now.”

Speaking to the TNRD board last week, Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian said the goal for Kamloops Airport was to have 350,000 passengers in 2020 after the best year ever in 2019 with 361,586 passengers processed, but he notes because of the pandemic it ‘will be lucky to see 40,000’.

Ratuski meanwhile believes that travel restrictions and quarantine requirements will mean a slower recovery for transborder, international, and some inter-provincial travelers.

“I’ve travelled quite a bit over the summer and the experience is actually not that different other than wearing a mask while you are on the aircraft,” he said. “Passengers would notice say for example when they get to Vancouver, there’s generally just not a lot of people around, and not a lot of services available.”

“The public and passengers are reminded that wearing a mask is mandatory in all areas of the Kamloops terminal. Passengers will also have their temperature checked prior to boarding their aircraft.”