File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

COVID-19

COVID-19 travel restrictions result in 97 per cent drop in second-quarter passenger traffic at Kamloops Airport

Jul 13, 2020 | 12:41 PM

KAMLOOPS — Second-quarter numbers released by Kamloops Airport show the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Passenger totals were under 2,500 combined for the months of April, May and June, a 97 per cent decrease from the same period in 2019.

Restrictions around COVID-19 resulted in border closures and isolation measures, leading to drastic reductions in service from all airlines serving the airport.

Manager Ed Ratuski says that service is slowly coming back.

“Air Canada reintroduced service to the Kamloops-to-Vancouver route on June 15. Westjet is increasing its Calgary service to daily and Central Mountain Air to Prince George reintroduced last week to three days a week,” Ratuski told CFJC Today.

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Even as travel within the province and the country begins to rebound, Ratuski notes restrictions are still in effect. And, with borders remaining closed, he doesn’t expect a significant uptick in passenger totals for the forseeable future.

“A lot of our traffic in the summer is locals and residents travelling to Europe and things like that. Those numbers are way down this summer. With the borders still closed for non-essential travel, we’ll definitely see decreases as long as [closures] continue.”

Ratuski notes, for those who are travelling, mask-wearing is mandatory during both security screening and the flights themselves.