A record number of passengers passed through the Prince George Airport in 2017. according to a statement issued by the Prince George Airport Authority.
A total of 499,125 arrived or departed the city from the airport last year, up from 462,007 in 2016 - an eight per cent increase.
"This was our biggest year on record. The Prince George Airport Authority (PGAA)attributes the growth to a continued stable, diversified economy as well as the wildfire activity experienced across the province last summer," PGAA president John Gibson said in a press release. "Although the summer wildfires forced significant traffic off the road and into the air, we saw an increase in (the) majority of the months, compared to 2016."
Passenger traffic was up 21 per cent in August compared to last year, 18 per cent in July and nine per cent in October.
The city has seen an almost 28 per cent growth in air passenger volume since 2010, when 390,340 people arrived or departed from the Prince George Airport. The number of passengers using the airport has increase every year between 2010 and 2017, with the exception of a small dip in 2016.
Contributing to the increase, Central Mountain Air added direct flights to Dawson Creek and Edmonton in July last year.
