By Cheryl Jahn

BC Aviation Council conference takes flight

Jun 6, 2023 | 4:02 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Everything from regional challenges in aviation to labour demands and tourism opportunities are on the table.

The BC Aviation Council conference is underway.

“It brings on over 100 people into town. In some cases for four nights. They typically don’t do it outside of that sort of Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria, or the Kelowna Corridor,” says Gordon Duke, President and CEO of the Prince George Airport Authority. “So it’s been a long time since they’ve had it here. We’re thrilled to be hosting it and really showcasing a bit of what Prince George has to offer.”

And the local Airport Authority sees it as a golden opportunity to toot the airport’s horn.

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“The message is: We are that base camp for adventure where outdoors and we are friendly and happy to have folks here. We’ve toured a number of the local craft breweries. We’ve taken the group through a walk early this morning through Cottonwood Island.”

Aviation is a huge part of the tourism industry in Northern BC and connections are critical. CEO Colin Carson cites the recent addition of a twice-weekly flight between Prince George and Edmonton as a launch.

“An hour and 20 minutes a couple of times a week from Edmonton direct to Prince George,” says Colin Carson, CEO of Tourism Prince George and one of the speakers at the event. “Like, that’s a pretty awesome way to experience a different community. They can get to Prince George really quickly. We talk about the great experiences we have. So I’m really just working together. You know, they’re such an important part of what we do, and I think we’re an important part of what the airport’s doing here and as well and making sure we’re working together on the same messaging there is.”

Prince George has the honour of having one of the longest runways in Canada, designed and built to accommodate air cargo. That, too, is a message from the airport Authority.

“We toured the airfield, showed them Canada’s fourth longest commercial runway, as well as our cargo apron. The wildfire tanker base was operating yesterday. So for a bunch of aviation geeks, it was heaven.”

This is the first time in more than a dozen years that the Aviation conference is being hosted in Prince George.