(CFJC Today/File photo).

By Aaron Schulze

Welcoming Back Americans

Kamloops Airport expects to see additional passengers, not flights, when welcoming back international travelers

Jul 19, 2021 | 4:06 PM

KAMLOOPS — Monday’s (July 19) announcement from the federal government is described as positive news for the airport industry.

Canada will allow fully vaccinated U.S. citizens into the country without a 14-day quarantine starting Aug. 9, followed by fully vaccinated travelers from the rest of the globe on Sept. 7.

While YKA isn’t an international airport, Kamloops Airport Manager Ed Ratuski said they rely heavily on international traffic.

“For international travelers that visit Sun Peaks and business travelers as well that are arriving in and departing out of Kamloops, generally they fly through Vancouver or Calgary to the U.S.,” Ratuski said. “Just the easing of restrictions on who can travel across the border for fully vaccinated passengers will definitely help. Particularly in the winter. We do get a lot of international travelers. Not just for tourism, but Thompson Rivers University as well.”

Ratuski expects Kamloops Airport to reap the benefits of fully vaccinated international travelers later in 2021. There likely won’t be an increase in flights, but Ratuski expects to see an increase in passenger traffic.

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“Right now, we’re still at about 20 per cent of what we normally would be at this time of year,” he said. “Towards the end of the year, we’re looking at about up to 40 or 50 per cent of what we were seeing pre-COVID. The recovery is still quite slow, but that’s where we would generally start to see some of that additional traffic – travelers from the U.S. and internationally as well towards the end of the year.”

Kamloops Airport doesn’t have many concerns leading up to Aug. 9, but Ratuski reminded British Columbians and international travelers that pandemic-related precautions, such as mask wearing and physical distancing, is still in effect. He said passengers should give themselves additional time to get through airport security and board their flights.