Prince George Airport Authority Q3 Update

Prince George, BC –Passenger numbers at the Prince George Airport (YXS) continued to rise during the third quarter of 2022. The airport saw 30,510 passengers in July, 32,644 passengers in August, and 34,897 passengers in September.

“Our airport is continuing to get busier” says Prince George Airport Authority (PGAA) President & CEO, Gordon Duke “Passenger numbers are getting closer to pre-pandemic levels and we are seeing an increase to our air service to match this demand.”

July was a busy month for YXS. Transport Minister Alghabra was on site announcing just under $3 million in funding for the PGAA. This funding is to replace aging equipment and help maintain safe, efficient day to day operations at YXS. The same day as this funding announcement, YXS welcomed athletes for the BC Summer Games. The PGAA contributed a large in-kind donation to the Summer Games in the form of warehouse space and executed a very smooth athlete arrival and departure plan at the airport. Many PGAA staff and Board members also volunteered for the Games.

The PGAA has always been a big community supporter and once again participated in Meals on Wheels this year. In 2020, the PGAA was approached to help out with Meals on Wheels as many volunteers were in a high COVID risk category and could not continue their regular volunteer positions. Since then, the Airport Authority has continued to support this program annually between May and September.

Passenger experience remains a focus for the Prince George Airport Authority (PGAA). Farmhouse Catering Company continued their renovations and Q3 saw the opening of both a bakery and a full-service restaurant pre-security. Additionally, Transport Canada announced further travel restrictions were being lifted and removed the mask mandate effective October 1. This followed the removal of vaccine and testing requirements in June of 2022.

In terms of safety, earlier this year, the PGAA announced a partnership with Firemedix to provide live fire training for Canadian airports. This project was a huge success as things wrapped up early in October. Training sessions are already being organized for next year, and the intent is to expand this program to include other firefighting groups.

Looking ahead to the final quarter of the year, Flair’s non-stop flight from Prince George to Tucson, Arizona begins December 2, 2022 providing a nice sunny getaway this winter. Additionally, the PGAA is pleased to be participating in Festival of Trees this year after a 2-year hiatus due to COVID.