The hold room at Kamloops Airport. (Photo via A&T Project Developments Inc.)

There are plans to expand the hold room at Kamloops Airport in the next few years to try and improve the overall passenger experience at the facility.

YKA Managing Director Ed Ratuski says the current hold room – the space in the airport where passengers wait for their flights – can get crowded if there are two or more flights scheduled in close proximity.

He says the work – which is expected to get underway next year – will also mean new restrooms and a better food and beverage offering for passengers at Kamloops Airport as they wait to board their flights.

“To get there, we have to enclose some other parts of the facility to make room for that interior work to be done,” Ratuski told Radio NL. “The footprint of the building stays the same, just some interior movement in the building.”

“So, its not actually making the building bigger, but making it work better.”

Ratuski says the plan is to finish all of the design work this year so work can get underway in 2025. He notes the work is expected to be done in several phases over two to three years as crews will be working while the airport is operational.

“It’s phased work, so we have to finish one phase so that we can move in without impacting the existing operation so its actually closing off portions of the building, refinishing it, and then opening them back up again,” Ratuski said. “It’s a little bit trickly but it’s not unlike what people see in other airports.”

At this time, it is not clear what the total project will cost, as Ratuski said he wasn’t comfortable mentioning a dollar figure just yet given that the project is still in the concept stage

“It is a little too broad to be saying [the estimated cost] publicly right now but its definitely a significant project for the airport,” Ratuski said.

“It all depends on passenger numbers because those projects are funded through the Airport Improvement Fee. That is one thing we have to consider to make sure that there is the capital funds available to go ahead with that project.”

But he also said that the Kamloops Airport Society will be asking higher levels of government for grant money to cover some of the costs of the project.

“We’ll be reaching out to both federal and provincial government for support because the project does support tourism in the region and [the renovations aim to provide] just a better passenger experience overall,” Ratuski said.

As of the most recent data, there were just under 90,000 passengers at Kamloops Airport in the first three months of 2024, with the potential for a new record year not out of the realm of possibility, if everything goes according to plan.