By Spencer Sterritt

Faster security screenings and more seats coming to Nanaimo Airport with $15M expansion

Apr 17, 2018 | 3:32 PM

NANAIMO — A significant expansion to Nanaimo Airport hopes to ease any pains and concerns travellers might have.

The $15 million expansion will add additional security screening areas to handle more passengers and their departure lounge capacity will more than double. Food stalls and restaurants are also expected once construction is complete.

When an X-ray security scanner broke down in mid-February, it caused several people to miss direct and connecting flights due to delays.

Airport president and CEO Mike Hooper said the expansion was needed to handle the large number of passengers flying through their gates.

“If we look at the growth since 2010, we’ve grown about 118 per cent. As we look into the future and the number of folk coming to the area, we expect that growth to continue into the next five years at least. So we really need to do this expansion.”

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More than 400,000 people are anticipated to use the airport this year.

Hooper said the expansion is also a critical step towards offering direct flights to sun destinations like the Caribbean, though he couldn’t say when those flights might be available.

“It’s really going to be up to the air carriers when they want to put that service in from the Nanaimo Airport. We’re hitting non-stop to Toronto on June 22, 2018, four times a week. If we just take that flight and aim it south, we’d be in a sun destination.”

Construction is expected to provide 150 jobs on-site for the next two years. Hooper said the expansion is set to directly and indirectly create roughly 2,000 area jobs and sizably boost regional revenues.

“It’s everything from folks riding taxis to the pilots. It’s a full force that is used to operate the airport.”

Both the provincial and federal government granted $2.5 million each for the project.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit