By Greg Fry

Up in smoke: Wildfires meant less travelers at Kamloops Airport in August

Sep 15, 2017 | 11:36 AM

KAMLOOPS — Smoky conditions were the reason behind a 31 per cent drop in travelers at the Kamloops Airport last month.

There were 20,921 travelers at the airport in August, compared to 27,388 in August 2016. Year to date, there have been 205,228 travelers, down 5.6 per cent from the 216,720 at this time last year.

“August traveler numbers were down significantly as a result of the cancelled flights due to obscuring smoke from nearby wildfires,” said the KAL in a statement.

The airport also reports larger aircraft traffic dropped 16 per cent last month to 896 movements though smaller aircraft, including waterbombers working wildfires, was up 16 per cent to 2,333.