SpongeG
Jan 30, 2007, 12:56 AM
Expansion plans are being accelerated at airports in Grande Prairie and Edmonton after travel numbers shot way up in 2006 and thousands more people took to the skies.
Both airport authorities released their 2006 passenger numbers Friday and they showed a dramatic increase, far above national and international averages.
The growth in air travel is a reflection of the economy and the growth of northern Alberta, but few expected such a dramatic rise.
Passenger numbers at the Grande Prairie Regional Airport showed 314,923 passengers went through its gates in 2006, a 37.5-per cent increase from 2005.
Meanwhile in Edmonton, a record-breaking 5.2 million passengers went through the Edmonton International Airport, a 15.2 per cent increase from 2005.
What stands out for many, however, is the growth in traffic from Grande Prairie into Edmonton. From January 2006 to October 2006, Grande Prairie traffic into Edmonton increased 54 per cent, the largest increase of any northern community into Edmonton, beating Fort McMurray, Yellowknife and Saskatoon.
Jim Rudolph, spokesman for Edmonton International, said traffic from Grande Prairie is up in both business travel and recreational.
"It's both - you're seeing more business travel, but because there's money in Grande Prairie and Alberta, more people are travelling."
Edmonton Airports President and CEO Reg Milley visited Grande Prairie to meeting with the business community late last year and said the Edmonton airport hopes to offer more direct flights in the future and is targeting areas that could benefit the north.
The airport's new direct flight to London, England starts daily April 1, and the flight is timed to meeting with connections from the north so Grande Prairie travellers aren't left waiting. Direct flights to Houston, Tex., Dallas, Tex., and New York are all being considered for the oilpatch business traveller and other direct flights to Florida and Frankfurt, Germany are being targeted. The Edmonton airport is also planning to spend $250 million in the coming years to expand the airport to 21 gates from 17, add more parking, increase room for American departures and partner with a company to build a 187-room hotel at the airport.
Grande Prairie Airport CEO Brian Grant couldn't be reached for comment Friday, but in a released statement said expansion plans at the local airport are being sped up.
"Scheduled air service in Grande Prairie is running at near full capacity and we recognize that seats are not always available at the most convenient times," he said in a statement.
The airport will spend $11 million in the next two years to further expand the air terminal and parking spaces.
One local business owner who specializes in travel confirmed the industry is certainly booming.
"The population has seen a big increase ... and there's more money for travel," said David Biltek, owner of V, The Vacation Store. "We're seeing an increase in destinations everywhere. South and Central America has never been busier for us."
Biltek said the one flight Grande Prairie is missing that would benefit travellers here is a regular direct Grande Prairie to Vancouver flight - a direct connection where one doesn't travel through Edmonton or Calgary first.
B.C.-based Hawkair once offered Grande Prairie-to-Vancouver flights but they were pulled in May 2005.
http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/z_passengernumbers0129.lasso
Both airport authorities released their 2006 passenger numbers Friday and they showed a dramatic increase, far above national and international averages.
The growth in air travel is a reflection of the economy and the growth of northern Alberta, but few expected such a dramatic rise.
Passenger numbers at the Grande Prairie Regional Airport showed 314,923 passengers went through its gates in 2006, a 37.5-per cent increase from 2005.
Meanwhile in Edmonton, a record-breaking 5.2 million passengers went through the Edmonton International Airport, a 15.2 per cent increase from 2005.
What stands out for many, however, is the growth in traffic from Grande Prairie into Edmonton. From January 2006 to October 2006, Grande Prairie traffic into Edmonton increased 54 per cent, the largest increase of any northern community into Edmonton, beating Fort McMurray, Yellowknife and Saskatoon.
Jim Rudolph, spokesman for Edmonton International, said traffic from Grande Prairie is up in both business travel and recreational.
"It's both - you're seeing more business travel, but because there's money in Grande Prairie and Alberta, more people are travelling."
Edmonton Airports President and CEO Reg Milley visited Grande Prairie to meeting with the business community late last year and said the Edmonton airport hopes to offer more direct flights in the future and is targeting areas that could benefit the north.
The airport's new direct flight to London, England starts daily April 1, and the flight is timed to meeting with connections from the north so Grande Prairie travellers aren't left waiting. Direct flights to Houston, Tex., Dallas, Tex., and New York are all being considered for the oilpatch business traveller and other direct flights to Florida and Frankfurt, Germany are being targeted. The Edmonton airport is also planning to spend $250 million in the coming years to expand the airport to 21 gates from 17, add more parking, increase room for American departures and partner with a company to build a 187-room hotel at the airport.
Grande Prairie Airport CEO Brian Grant couldn't be reached for comment Friday, but in a released statement said expansion plans at the local airport are being sped up.
"Scheduled air service in Grande Prairie is running at near full capacity and we recognize that seats are not always available at the most convenient times," he said in a statement.
The airport will spend $11 million in the next two years to further expand the air terminal and parking spaces.
One local business owner who specializes in travel confirmed the industry is certainly booming.
"The population has seen a big increase ... and there's more money for travel," said David Biltek, owner of V, The Vacation Store. "We're seeing an increase in destinations everywhere. South and Central America has never been busier for us."
Biltek said the one flight Grande Prairie is missing that would benefit travellers here is a regular direct Grande Prairie to Vancouver flight - a direct connection where one doesn't travel through Edmonton or Calgary first.
B.C.-based Hawkair once offered Grande Prairie-to-Vancouver flights but they were pulled in May 2005.
http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/z_passengernumbers0129.lasso