(For what it's worth, I posted a link to that article about 3 posts and 1 page back before. But I didn't quote it directly.
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And yeah, as far as AC and Westjet are concerned, they would rather have all ~3M Maritimers located in one location; Halifax or Moncton would do (I think Moncton has slightly better weather for planes) and everywhere else would be deserted wilderness.
The reality is, NB has 3 somewhat major airports that are doing well pre-COVID, and given time, will continue to do well post-COVID. We have 3 CMA's in a province with less than 1M people, and all 3 cities have distinct identities that work well together with just enough competition to keep them on their toes.
Sure, if we had Omniscience and Immortality available to us back when we were planning airports in New Brunswick, we probably would have focused air traffic on Sussex; but we didn't and we certainly won't change that now. We have to deal with the hand we've been dealt, and the 3 airports we have aren't going anywhere.