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By Victor Kaisar

YKA Lease Extended

Kamloops Airport extends Fulton Field operating lease to 2062

Nov 18, 2024 | 4:22 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops Airport Authority Society has signed a 20-year-lease extension with management company Vantage Airport Group and operator Kamloops Airport Limited through to 2062.

Society president and Kamloops councillor Bill Sarai says the extension will help provide more stability to prospective businesses that are looking to expand or move to the land around Fulton Field following a massive rezoning earlier this year.

“Financial institutions wanted to see a longer term lease to have more leverage to borrow more money,” Sarai told CFJC Today. “The longer your lease, the better building goes up and the more investment they’ll put into it. They’ll get more years to get their return on their investment.”

The current lease, which was signed in 1997, was due to expire in 2042.

“And we wanted to extend it to give the Airport Society and Vantage the opportunity to market our airport and have a longer term vision,” Sarai added. “I think this gives us a solid foundation for years to come to develop and operate the airport to its full capacity.”

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The proponents also say the extended lease will allow for new air services, development of adjacent land, community engagement and “an exceptional experience for all passengers traveling through the airport.”

“We look forward to optimizing the many opportunities this lease extension presents in terms of land development and air service development, and strengthening the excellent relationships we have established with the Kamloops Airport Authority Society and the many community partners we work with every day,” YKA Managing Director Ed Ratuski said in a statement.

Earlier this year, the city approved the rezoning of nearly 300 hectares of land at Kamloops Airport, with the goal of allowing a broader range of commercial, industrial and airport-related uses in the future.

“From daycare to maybe even a hair salon, there is an area in those comprehensive zones that we can fit every type of business,” Sarai said. “The only place where we’re restricting is where we have airside accessibility to the runway. We are reserving that for businesses that have to do with airports and need access to a runway.”

One such business that the Airport Society is trying to attract is an aircraft maintenance operation to take some of the pressure off of Kelowna Airport.