Lethbridge Airport celebrates grand reopening following extensive renos

Upgrades to the pump house and water line service to ensure proper water supply for fire response at the airport.
Installation of a new sand storage shed to ensure environmental factors do not degrade products for winter operations.

The initiatives listed below will be completed by 2023:

Rehabilitation of aircraft maneuvering areas, including Taxiways A, B, and C; Apron I, II, and III; and Runway 13/31.
Replacing the antiquated airfield lighting system to meet Transport Canada compliance standards.
Extension of Taxiway B to enable future development of airside access lots.

More than $6.3 million has been spent renovating the terminal building. Most of the projects listed below have already been completed, but the rest are expected to be finished by the end of 2022:

Expansion of the passenger holding room to allow for increased passenger numbers with additional airlines and/or larger aircrafts.
Installation of washroom facilities in the passenger holding room including washrooms to meet accessibility standards.
Replaced old seating with new modern furniture.
Upgrades to parking lot technology.

An additional $583,000 was spent on general airport improvements. This work is ongoing and should be finished by 2023.

Mayor Blaine Hyggen explains that a wide array of different objectives were achieved through the renovations, such as increasing passenger traffic, revenue diversification, land development, fire safety, and more.

He adds that all of this was done to position the Lethbridge Airport for a pandemic recovery and future growth.

“The airport is key to the continued growth of our economy,” says Mayor Hyggen. “The investment we’ve put into the airport also positions our city and our region in a competitive place for business attraction and retention.”

Premier Jason Kenney says the upgrades to the Lethbridge Airport are one of many key components of Alberta’s Recovery Plan, which was an initiative founded at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic aimed at revitalizing the provincial economy.

“A big part of that plan is increasing tourism, and that’s one of the reasons we need to expand airport infrastructure like you are doing here,” says Kenney. “This is going to be the gateway to Southern Alberta, now more than ever, that you’ll have the capacity to take larger flights to provide world-class service to people both leaving for their sun vacations, but also people coming to do business and visit Southern Alberta.”

As a long-time resident of the city, Lethbridge-East MLA Nathan Neudorf says it is great to see the newly-renovated airport. He believes that the facility has seen a “tremendous transformation.”

“This is exciting for me,” says Neudorf. “In my former life, I worked in commercial construction and I began some of the estimating on what it would take to upgrade the washrooms. To see it coming, many years later, full circle to what we see here today, is personally exciting and very meaningful that the vision of those from years past to see it come to fruition.”

In addition to renovations, it was announced earlier this year that Flair Airlines would partner with the Lethbridge Airport to offer direct flights between Lethbridge and Tuscon, Arizona. Officials hinted that there will be similar announcements in the near future.

by David Opinko

Lethbridge Airport celebrates grand reopening following extensive renos

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