By Geoff Smith (@GeoffSmithLNN on Twitter)

Mayor: airport passenger growth “positive” but more work ahead

Oct 22, 2018 | 12:19 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Mayor Chris Spearman is pleased with a year-over-year surge in passenger numbers from Lethbridge Airport. But there’s more work to be done.

With WestJet now flying between Lethbridge and Calgary, in addition to Air Canada, the airport has seen a year-over-year increase in passenger flights of 105 per cent. Spearman calls those numbers positive but adds that’s not the only yardstick.

“We have some progress to make in that area, maybe restoring the direct flight between Lethbridge and Edmonton, and then if that’s successful, we may see additional service enhancements,” Spearman told LethbridgeNewsNOW in an interview. “But the other part of the airport acquisition, the rationale, is really to upgrade the airport and make sure the airport becomes an economic development catalyst in our city and in region.”

He said the committee overseeing the airport is looking for grants the airport may be eligible for and working on strategy to enhance the progress. He added they also continue to talk about additional service, but in the end, that’s their decision.

Spearman believes people realize that, especially with fares coming down, flying from Lethbridge is not much more expensive than driving to Calgary and flying from there, when costs like gasoline, parking, and hotel are factored in. But in the end, he hopes people realize a viable airport is key to a successful local economy.

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“We need to make sure everyone fully understands that our airport has to be successful, or else there will be some significant issues in terms of future economic development in the area.”

The city became the owner of the airport in July, but Lethbridge County continues to operate it on an interim basis.