It appears the passengers are slowly returning to Kamloops Airport.
New data released Friday by airport staff shows a total of 28,773 passengers processed at the terminal between July and September this year. That is a 102.2 per cent increase when compared to the 14,233 passengers during the same three months last year.
Further broken down by month, September saw the most passengers at 11,359, followed by August at 10,104, and July at 7,310 – a slow, gradual increase ever since COVID travel restrictions were eased at the start of July.
“It is a little bit slower than we were projecting but we are quite pleased to see the numbers in August and September particularly, with September being a lower month traditionally that the numbers actually came up above our August and July numbers,” YKA Managing Director, Ed Ratuski, told NL News. “That’s a good sign for us that people are becoming more confident with travelling.”
“However, as international travel restrictions remain in effect and with new domestic vaccination requirements, recovery across all sectors is expected to remain limited.”
Through nine months of the year, there have been 45,895 passengers processed at Kamloops Airport, down about 57.7 per cent when compared to the 108,395 at the same point last year, as 2020 began with “normal” passenger volumes in January and February. In all, there ended up being 123,675 passengers total in 2020.
Still, Ratuski says he is looking forward to seeing things eventually get back to normal as passenger numbers are still nowhere near it was back in 2019 where the airport processed a record 361,586 passengers.
“In the last few months, we’ve seen some significant increases, and we’re glad to see it. Instead of being down 95 per cent, we’re down in the 60 per cent range in terms of passenger traffic right now,” he said.
Ratuski says he is expecting the winter season to be busy, and so he’s encouraging people to plan ahead if they’re hoping to finally get on a flight. That is as plans are in the works to try and attract more direct flights to Kamloops in the winter months, potentially as soon as this year.
“I wound encourage people who are still looking forward to reconnecting with family to start checking out the opportunities now,” he said. “There are a lot more opportunities now with for people to start travelling to see family or for business again with our partners WestJet, Air Canada, Pacific Coastal, and Central Mountain Air.”
Masks are still mandatory in all areas of the Kamloops terminal and on board the aircraft. Further, as announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, all passengers will have show prove they are fully vaccinated by Oct. 30, before they will be allowed on board their flight.
“We recommend checking with your airline on all COVID specific travel requirements,” YKA staff said, in a statement.
