Over $700,000 in provincial funding will help mitigate financial losses for the Nanaimo Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

TAKEOFF

New provincial funding helps secure immediate future for Nanaimo Airport

Mar 30, 2021 | 4:30 PM

NANAIMO — New money will help the Nanaimo Airport weather the COVID-19 storm.

The provincial government announced $720,000 in funding for the Nanaimo Airport to help offset losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dave Devana, Nanaimo Airport Commission president, told NanaimoNewsNOW their traffic plummeted in March and April of 2020 and hasn’t returned.

“We had our biggest year ever in 2019 at 491,000 passengers, averaging over 40,000 a month. When COVID-19 hit, it went down to under 2,000 in April 2020 which was a 96 per cent drop.”

Passenger levels were down around 70 per cent from normal levels in the summer however additional restrictions in the fall mean the airport is seeing passenger volumes down between 85 and 90 per cent through early 2021.

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The funding from the province will ensure the airport’s 25 employees won’t be laid off as the travel industry continues to wait for mass vaccinations to take effect.

“Operating funds are what we really need right now because 95 per cent of all our revenues come from passengers and parking fees, so this money is to help us reduce our losses and we’ll be using it to keep everybody employed at the airport,” Devana said.

Doug Routley, Nanaimo-North Cowichan MLA, said in a release the funding is a stop-gap for Nanaimo’s airport to continue its vital links between the region and regular destinations like Calgary and Vancouver.

“Hope is on the horizon with the arrival of the vaccine, but we know it will be some time before people are moving around at pre-pandemic levels. This funding will help bridge the gap so the Nanaimo Airport can cover costs and plan for the return of travellers.”

The money was part of $6.2 million in funding to inter-city bus operators and regional airports.

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alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley