Last week the City of Castlegar celebrated a $6 million federal grant that will cover nearly half the cost of an expansion to the airport terminal and other improvements.
But the news was tempered by the fact the city is still waiting on approval for a GPS system expected to greatly improve the airport’s reliability in the winter.
In 2019, the city adopted a plan that made airport reliability a top priority and invested significant money in a system to let plans land and depart in bad weather.
City manager Chris Barlow calls it a “bold step.”
“The design work is done and we’ve shown that it can be flown for both departures and arrivals,” he told council last week. “We’re just waiting for regulatory review and approval.”
The proposal was submitted to Nav Canada and Transport Canada in late 2021. At the time, the mayor said the system wouldn’t be in place any earlier than 2023. The city is still waiting for approval.
Barlow said part of the delay can be chalked up to staffing shortages.
“Especially in the airline industry there’s a pretty big backlog coming out of COVID,” he said. “There’s human capital strains across the whole industry. We’re at the mercy of that.”
Once implemented, Barlow said they expect an increase in passengers, which is one reason they’re proceeding with terminal expansion.
He further noted they have received “significant grants” to expand the airport apron and for other improvements.
“I know we’ve all faced some cancellations at the airport and a lot of people [say] “Show me the difference’ but it is coming and I can tell you we’re really proud of the improvements we’ve made and we’re not done yet.”
Airport manager Maciej Habrych, who received a round of applause from council last week about the $6 million grant, called the reliability question “another big domino which has to fall” but insisted the city is “well positioned” to implement the GPS system.
“We’re coming to an end phase where we’re comfortable starting to develop it and pitch it and gather interest through our industry partners,” he said.
Mayor Maria McFaddin said the city should celebrate, even if the system is not yet in place.
“All that work we as council and a community have done to get our reliability up is part of the reason why we’re getting some buy-in to our airport,” she said. “They see the writing on the wall that in a few years it will look very different.”
