Flying lower than expected
Rebranded YYG Charlottetown Airport expects traffic to be down 80 per cent this year
The chief executive officer of the newly rebranded YYG Charlottetown Airport said most airline experts expect it will take three years to recover from the effects of the pandemic.
Doug Newson said traffic through the terminal building in the P.E.I. capital plummeted after travel restrictions were put in place in mid-March.
Last year, the airport saw close to 56,000 passengers combined in April and May. That number fell to just over 1,600 passengers in the same months this year. That’s a drop of about 97 per cent.
“With the current ban on non-essential travel, along with the 14-day required selfisolation requirements, we are expecting to see similar trends in the months ahead,’’ Newson said Tuesday during the authority’s annual general meeting which was broadcast on the airport’s Facebook page. I think it’s safe to say that air travel may never be the same again.’’
Based on recent forecasts and current travel restrictions, passenger traffic in Charlottetown is expected to be down by as much as 80 per cent this year.
Also at the meeting, Vanessa Smith, manager of marketing and communications for the airport, unveiled the rebranding at an annual general meeting.
YYG Charlottetown Airport aims to bring all aspects of the business together under one umbrella — the name Charlottetown Airport, the
airport authority, Fly P.E.I. and the airport’s code, YYG. Smith also announced a new airport website has been launched which is fully bilingual.
These changes would all have been part of what was shaping up to be a banner year for the airport prior to the pandemic.
Traffic in 2019 was up 3.4 per cent from the year before. More than 383,000 passengers came into the terminal building last year and, with first quarter numbers higher than the authority had seen before, the airport was on track to shatter its passenger record set in 2019 and surpass 400,000 passengers this year.
And, just before those restrictions were put in place, the airport’s plans for this year included the launch of three new flights, all of which were supposed to start this week. With all of those extra people coming and going, the airport was in the midst of terminal expansion plans that have now been postponed indefinitely.
“It was the kind of challenge we would love to be dealing with today,’’ Newson said.
Now, the authority, like so many businesses, must deal with revenue shortfalls. That $20 passenger facility fee that all departing passengers get charged represents 34 per cent of the airport’s revenue.
It brought in close to $4 million last year. Also gone are the landing and terminal fees airlines pay.
Airports are getting some help from the federal government. Airport rent fees have been waived through December, but Newson said Charlottetown will need long-term relief.
The P.E.I. airport is also taking advantage of the federal wage subsidy program to keep people employed.
Moving forward, Newson said he can’t say whether the facility fee or airline tickets will increase to make up for lost revenue. He pointed out that Charlottetown has the lowest fee in the region and doesn’t want to price itself out of the market.