Passenger air travel in and out of Prince George Airport plummeted in 2020.
Canceled flights, closed borders and the fear of coming into contact with the deadly COVID-19 virus resulted in a 64 per cent drop in passenger traffic at YXS.
The lockdowns that came into effect last spring which forced businesses all over the country to close also kept people grounded close to home and that had a huge impact locally with drastic reductions in passenger travel.
The numbers at YXS in April dropped 95.57 per cent (from 42,911 in 2019 to 1,899 in 2020). May was just as bad, falling 95.51 per cent (42,537 to 1,910), and June traffic plunged 91.10 per cent (from 39,368 to 3,505). In March, when the pandemic first hit Canada, there was an immediate 44.30 per cent reduction (from 44.817 to 24,964).
Throughout the rest of the year the numbers were down at least 70 per cent each month. In total, 176,994 passengers either departed or arrived at the Prince George terminal, compared with 496,714 in 2019, 506,485 in 2018 and 499,125 in 2017.
“It was an unprecedented year for all as COVID-19 turned our world upside down” said Gordon Duke, president and CEO of the Prince George Airport Authority (PGAA).
“The aviation industry has been hit incredibly hard as travel restrictions and limitations were in place for the majority of the year. The number of flights cancelled and airlines who temporarily suspended operations out of YXS forced our management team to pivot and look at other revenue opportunities. We are a not-for-profit corporation and we rely heavily on revenues from flights and passenger traffic.”
Duke said the airport is taking advantage of the federal wage subsidy program to keep YXS staff working. The not-for-profit PGAA currently has 36 employees and all have retained their jobs, with some reductions in pay. Positions that become vacant will not be filled. Ottawa is providing rent relief to the airport authority but Duke said the aviation industry will need more help to survive the current crisis.
“We have a really solid, strong team at the airport with a lot of valuable industry experience and if we were to let any of them go we would be hard-pressed to replace them in a year when things pick up again,” said Duke. “We have a very supportive board that understands the situation.”
Air Canada announced Wednesday it was laying off 2,000 employees and will suspend service to Kamloops, as well as several other regional routes, however, Prince George retains its connections to Vancouver but with fewer daily flights. In pre-COVID times Air Canada had five daily flights to and from the city and left one plane at the airport overnight. Now it’s two flights per day and no overnighting of aircraft.
WestJet cancelled its daily service to Calgary last March and shelved plans to add an additional flight to and from Prince George. It has also condensed its Vancouver schedule and now goes there only two and sometimes three times per day, down from four or five per day. Central Mountain Air, which flew to and from Edmonton before the pandemic, no longer goes to Alberta from Prince George.
“I know that for all airlines, January and February loads have really dropped off in terms of booking, so they’re all condensing their operation to minimize their losses, and we understand that, that’s the right thing for them to do,” said Duke. “The airlines are giving us a schedule and cancelling as they go forward. For instance, they’ll give us a schedule with three or flights on a day but they actually only operate two.”
Overall revenues for the PGAA dropped 42 per cent in 2020, compared to the previous year, and airport improvement fees fell 65 per cent during the year of the pandemic. The loss of revenue forced the airport to divert the flow of capital investment strictly to safety and regulatory projects.
“Certainly we want to be doing the right thing and what safe and healthy for all our stakeholders. We’re following the directions of public health and we’re making the airport as safe and healthy as possible for all the users that are traveling for essential purposes.”
The pandemic resulted in car rental agencies Hertz and Budget closing their stalls at YXS, leaving Enterprise as the only one left operating in the terminal.
2020 was not a total wipeout for YXS. The airport has remained open throughout the pandemic for medevac flights, Flair Airlines began servicing Prince George, and the airport added premium parking services for passengers.
“We started off the year with so much hope as we prepared to welcome the world for the Women’s World Curling Championship; as teams were landing at YXS, they were learning the tournament had been cancelled due to COVID,” said PGAA communications manager Lindsay Cotter.
“Locally, that was one of the first indications at how serious this new virus was. By the end of March travel restrictions were in place and we were installing Plexiglas barriers and physical distancing decals throughout the terminal in an effort to keep those travelling for essential reasons, safe.”
