Kamloops Airport. (Photo via Colton Davies)
The Managing Director at Kamloops Airport says he is pleased to see $16.5 million in COVID-19 relief funding announced by the province this week to help regional airports.
Ed Ratuski says it comes as revenue is down about 50 per cent because of COVID-19 restrictions.
“Its good to hear that they are looking at supporting the airport industry and the aviation industry like in short order,” he said. “We’ve been waiting since November for information on federal funding. Its actually good news to hear a program that will move quickly to get the money where it belongs.”
“Any funds we get out of this program will go towards supporting the ongoing operation of the site.”
Ratuski says most of the revenue at YKA comes from airline landing fees and passenger terminal fees – both of which have largely dried up with fewer travellers these days.
“We have the firefighters out here, and that is an expensive operation to run and that is where airports are really starting to see those fixed costs,” he said, on NL Newsday. “That is a fee you see on your ticket, which is $9 per passenger. When you have 90 per cent fewer passengers, you have 90 per cent less revenue to fund that program and that’s where the provincial money really starts to kick in.”
Meanwhile, the Director Of Business development at Ebus says the $10.7 million in provincial relief funding for inter-city bus companies from the B.C. government is also welcome news to his company.
John Stepovy says while the Alberta-based company has been operating in the Kamloops-area since replacing Greyhound, they’ve been subsidizing the service over the past year which has seen fewer passengers because of travel restrictions.
“I think what the funding could provide is just that opportunity to continue to provide essential service and to sustain the critical service for the people and the communities,” he said.
“We had times where we’ve scaled back service or suspended service for a little bit of time just by direction of the authorities and things like that.”
Stepovy says he’s pleased that the government has recognized bus companies as essential businesses.
“Whether its medical appointments, work, even education for people to access service in other communities that’s been kind of our motivation in continuing to operate, but the impacts have been tremendous,” Stepovy added, on NL Newsday.
The President of the BC Trucking Association says the COVID relief funding for bus companies does not include charter buses.
Dave Earle tells NL News that is the majority of the sector that is in need of government assistance.
“When you think about the charter buses, the team buses, the travel. Those companies can’t access those funds,” he said. “So we’re still waiting to hear from government. We’re hopeful that there is more to come in terms of some support for the tourism sector to act as a bit of bridge.”
Earle says it would have helped if those companies were included as well as we all work our way back to some sense of normalcy.
In announcing the grant funding, Transportation Minister Rob Fleming says the government hopes to have this money out the door by the end of the month.
“We will guide those companies and those airports which are typically municipally owned or non profit societies to walk them through the grant process,” Fleming said. “The scale of this grant is to sustain operations around British Columbia for the next year, so well into winter and spring of 2022.”
– With files from Jeff Andreas
