Ottawa Airport gets $4M boost from Feds to pave taxiways
Ottawa’s airport is slowing restoring routes that were dropped during the pandemic.
Millions of dollars are being spent to upgrade infrastructure as the airport prepares for a bigger increase in air traffic and the pandemic recovery plan is heavily dependent on federal government funding.
“Our airports have been hit really hard by the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, “and despite the many challenges, airports have continued to provide essential air services for Canadians.”
Runway repaving was possible through a $4 million federal cheque.
“This investment will help ensure continued safe airport operations for passengers, airline crews and airport workers,” says Alghabra.
Ottawa’s airport lost several key routes during the pandemic. For example, Air Canada had an Ottawa to Frankfurt flight. With pandemic restrictions lifted, some of those routes are being re-instated.
“We’re at about 75 per cent of our passenger volumes,” says Ottawa Airport VP of Communications, Krista Kealey. “And we expect that to go higher during the holidays.”
The infrastructure renovations are just in time for what could be a busy winter for the airport.
“The seasonal schedule for holiday and charter sunshine destination flights is excellent,” says Kealey. “It's probably at where it was in 2019, and perhaps even a little bit better.”
The airport is applying for another federal fund to help add more routes out of Ottawa.
“We've made a request for an Air Improvement Fund, which would enable airports to use funds to try to incentivize airlines to offer more direct routes when they want to de-risk them,” says Mark Laroche, Ottawa Airport President and CEO. “For example, when there's a new route that's announced, the airline takes a lot of risk because they don’t know what the passenger volume is, so they ask for incentives to ensure that they're profitable at the end of the year.”
Porter Airlines is also building two hangars at the Ottawa Airport, another sign of more route options for Ottawa passengers in the near future.
“Receiving funds from the federal government, we were able to build taxiway Romeo, which is the one that Porter announced, and the construction of a hangar,” says Laroche. “This hangar can receive up to six aircraft for maintenance. It's going to bring 200 full-time, well-paid jobs to the airport.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
It's the biggest election in history. Here's why few Indians in Canada will take part
In the Indian general election that gets underway on Friday, almost a billion people are eligible to vote, but a vast majority of the overseas Indian community in Canada won't be casting a ballot.
McDonald's customers left with 'zero value' collection of free hot drink stickers after company ends program
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Jury selection in Trump hush money trial faces pivotal stretch as former U.S. president returns to court
Jury selection in the hush money trial of Donald Trump enters a pivotal and potentially final stretch Thursday as lawyers look to round out the panel of New Yorkers that will decide the first-ever criminal case against a former president.
Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Biden scores endorsements from Kennedy family, looking to shore up support against Trump and RFK Jr.
U.S. President Joe Biden will accept endorsements from at least 15 members of the Kennedy political family during a campaign stop in Philadelphia on Thursday as he aims to undermine Donald Trump and marginalize the candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.