By James Peters

Economic downturn in Alberta drops Kamloops Airport numbers

Oct 17, 2016 | 11:51 AM

KAMLOOPS — The downturn in the northern Alberta economy has hit the Kamloops Airport once again.

New numbers show a 1.9 per cent dip in passenger travel through Fulton Field last month, compared to September of 2015.

“It’s really a continuation of what we saw throughout most of the summer where the economic consequences of the Alberta market, the downturn in the oil and gas, and the wildfire in Fort McMurray I think have played another big role where we have just seen fewer people traveling from Northern Alberta,” said Manager Fred Legace.

Legace says in spite of the decrease, there is reason for optimism.

“That number actually is pretty good considering all of the background that goes into the travel decision, especially out of Alberta. That is our biggest market into Kamloops: Albertans traveling for recreation. So it’s pretty significant that it’s holding mostly on par with last year.”

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NewLeaf Airlines, meantime, has only two more scheduled flights in and out of Kamloops – this Wednesday and next Wednesday.

While the discount carrier announced today it will begin flying in and out of Calgary, Legace says he still believes it will resume service to Kamloops in mid-December.