Vancouver Island’s busiest airport will see significant change over the next 20 years. Victoria International Airport is planning a $600 million expansion.
“This is quite a significant investment,” said Geoff Dickson, CEO and President of Victoria International Airport. “This is a significant improvement over previous capital plans.”
In its new master plan, which is updated approximately every 10 years, Victoria International Airport plans to expand both east and west, adding more counters and gates. registering and expanding international arrivals, which they have been doing for at least the past decade.
Some out-of-town travelers told CHEK News that cheaper car rental options should also be added.
“I noticed there aren’t all the car rental companies here. Some were in Sydney and they had to drive back and forth,” said Janet Harris, who is visiting her husband from Winnipeg. .
Besides car rentals, the CEO of YYJ says the number of drivers for air travelers has increased, but there are plans in BC Transit’s Peninsular Strategy to build routes on the Pat Bay Highway.
“What we’ll likely see is more login services on the McTavish exchange,” Dickson said.
And while Victoria International Airport emerges from the pandemic not just debt-free but also ready to invest, it hasn’t avoided the steep drop the pandemic has caused in air travel.
“Three or four years ago, we were an airport with two million passengers. Now we are an airport with 1.5 million passengers,” Dickson said.
According to Dickson, the expansion of the airport depends on a full resumption of travel.
“We’re hoping to get back to 100% pre-pandemic levels this year, but travel has changed,” Dickson said. “We don’t see as many business travelers, we see that has moved to Zoom and team calls. But there is some catching up to do on the leisure side and we are seeing strong growth in ultra low cost carriers.
Victoria Airport hopes this is proof enough that things are starting to change and point to more growth.
“What’s exciting for us is talking about growth again,” Dickson said.
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