Why you’ll pay an extra $5 to fly out of Victoria

$15 fee lower than most other airports, CEO says

Passengers departing Victoria International Airport will pay an extra $5 each for a total $15 airport improvement fee, starting July 1.

“We have looked hard at our capital program over the next 10 years, and as you build towards two million people by 2020, there’s obviously a need to invest capital in the airport,” said Geoff Dickson, Victoria Airport Authority president and chief executive officer, on Wednesday.

The $10 improvement fee, which pays for upgrading and expansion, has been unchanged since July 2004. Even with the hike, the North Saanich facility will have one of the lowest fees among major airports in Canada, Dickson said. Improvement fees top out at $30 per person at airports in Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Quebec City.

Within B.C., Vancouver charges $20 for travel beyond B.C. and the Yukon. Smaller airports also charge fees, with Prince George at $20, Smithers at $25, Kelowna at $15, Kamloops at $10 and Abbotsford at $5.

The increase in Victoria’s improvement fee follows last year’s decision by some major airlines to impose checked baggage fees, typically starting at $25.

Paul Dixon, manager of two Merit Travel offices in Saanich, said of the fee increase, “I don’t think it is going to have much of an effect on travel. I also assume that people won’t be happy about it either.”

Improvement fees brought in $7.6 million in 2013 for the Victoria airport, states the organization’s most recent annual report. Financial statements for 2014 are expected to be released next month, Geoff Dickson said.

Revenue from improvement fees will go toward the $165 million in capital expenditures mapped out for the next decade, Dickson said. Of that, $110 million will be spent on the terminal building and enlarging the apron in a multi-phase plan that aims to foster economic growth in the region.

A bigger apron will add overnight plane parking and capacity, thus opening up further growth possibilities, he said.

Airlines around the world are increasingly acting as economic generators.

This year, slightly more than $13 million is being spent on capital improvements at the Victoria airport. This includes $8.5 million on phase 1 of the apron expansion.

About $16.5 million will be needed for capital improvements annually, up from the historical average of $10 million to $12 million, Dickson said.

Passengers numbers hit 1.65 million in 2014, setting an all-time record.

Numbers keep moving up. In January, the airport handled 120,622 passengers, up three per cent from the same month in 2014.