Lethbridge Airport. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge Airport doing well, but many opportunities remain

Feb 4, 2020 | 11:28 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A new report has come back to Lethbridge City Council that highlights the local airport’s greatest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

At Monday’s Community Issues Committee meeting, representatives from Modalis Infrastructure Partners presented their Operational Review and Business Plan.

President and CEO Curtis Grad reports that, overall, the Lethbridge Airport is doing quite well for a facility of its size.

The number of people who have traveled to or from the airport has almost doubled in recent years, rising from 57,419 in 2017 to 104,078 in 2019.

One of the biggest positives is that traffic at this airport is less seasonal than many in Canada such as tourist destinations.

Week-in-review: A spring storm, Whoop-Up Days entertainment and housing for seniors

May 11, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: May 10, 2024

May 10, 2024

Week-in-review: Passenger rail, a big investment in Coaldale and an NFL draftee from Lethbridge

May 04, 2024

The Lethbridge Airport shows little seasonal fluctuations. (Supplied by Modalis Infrastructure Partners)

Using Nanaimo, B.C. as one example, Grad explains that airlines, car rental agencies, and other connected businesses often struggle to adjust their staffing levels for each season and have a difficult time coming up with long-term plans.

“Here, you’ve got a more balanced approach and you can grow it organically, where I think, in some of these smaller airports that are more seasonal, they can’t even afford to take advantage of their opportunities because they can’t scale up and scale down every six months.”

There are, however, several areas that were identified that Grad believes could use some work.

The most pressing of which is the Airfield Ground Lighting System (AGL). He says the AGL is over 40 years old and is in urgent need of replacement, especially as many of the parts that were used at the time are no longer being manufactured.

Grad also wants to see upgrades to the terminal area as some of the issues in the report include an undersized hold room for multiple departures, a lack of washrooms in the holding room, it being an aging facility in general, and end-of-life mechanical systems.

The report also calls the Lethbridge Airport a “sleeping asset” that can be better utilized with around 900 acres of surrounding land that can be developed.

The city’s Manager of Real Estate and Land Development Michael Kelly says they have to approach business development around the airport carefully.

“We have quite a large vacancy of square footage in Lethbridge, to add to that square footage is taking away the opportunity from somewhere else. We have to be mindful about what other people are doing in the city and make sure it’s well-balanced.”

“We always have to be looking forward. We’re not talking five years – we’re talking 30 or 50 years out,” adds Kelly

The report makes several other recommendations regarding land usage, car rentals, parking, food and beverage services, security, the airport’s organizational structure, branding and marketing, and more.

The next steps will be to create a long-term forecast of airport traffic and route profitability, as well as to conduct a series of surveys with passengers.

You can access the full report on the February 3, 2020, Community Issues Committee Meeting agenda online here.