Local passenger numbers remain somewhat steady, despite shifting travel patterns

“The first three months of this year, this first quarter, we’ve already seen an increase in passenger numbers. So not only would we suggest that we’ve recovered that reduction, we’re also now seeing an increase,” Ritchie said.

Regional connectivity is always the PGAA’s biggest priority and focus, with Ritchie saying the airport is always in discussions with airlines on how to better improve access and availability for local travellers. He adds this is likely why the Prince George airport didn’t see as big a decrease in 2025 as forecasted, due to the fact that travellers here are likely using the Prince George airport as a way to connect to bigger sites like Vancouver, and the types of flights available in Vancouver have reflected in the north.

“We’ve seen a lot more domestic travel, particularly with the regional airlines and our own national carriers. Some other carriers have the ability to go further throughout their network globally, and that helps. We’ve seen people, instead of going to Vancouver and going somewhere transborder for example, will now go to Vancouver and then go somewhere in Europe or somewhere in Asia or somewhere in the Caribbean,” Ritchie said.

While passenger numbers and increasing Prince George connectivity were a big focus of the AGM, it wasn’t the only topic brought up, as Ritchie said all aspects of improving the passengers’ experience at the airport was discussed, including food options.

“Some of these things take longer than we would like to see, including the food and beverage offerings that we have here. They’re here, they’re in place, but we’re still waiting on some other pieces that need to fall into place from the provincial legislation side of things, for example, that allow us to fully operate,” Ritchie said.

Also brought up was $4.2 million invested into the airport’s operations, largely focused on snow removal and making sure the airport is prepared for whatever conditions winter may bring.

“Part of that $4.2 million was involved in new sweeper trucks, new spreaders, and new vehicles to help clear snow and winter operations, which effectively went very, very well. If we look at last winter ops that we’ve just come out of, there was only one opportunity for us to have to close the runway for a small period of time, which is really, really good for all of our passengers,” Ritchie said.

Also included in the $4.2 million invested was runway lighting upgrades and operational technology improvements, among other things.

by Tommy Osborne

Local passenger numbers remain somewhat steady, despite shifting travel patterns

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