YXS nearing return to pre-pandemic passenger numbers

Passenger numbers at the Prince George Airport are continuing to grow at a steady pace.

During the first quarter of this year, YXS saw 44 per cent more people coming through the airport, whether they were arriving or departing.

January saw an increase of 59 per cent, February saw a 43 per cent increase, and March saw a 33 per cent increase when compared to the same months last year.

“It’s probably the best month we’ve had since last October,” said Prince George Airport Authority President and CEO Gord Duke.

“Compared to what we would’ve thought of as a normal month pre-covid, it’s pretty close, so we see it as a very encouraging sign.”

Duke said in 2019, the airport saw around 500,000 passengers come through YXS, and they’re getting close to being back to normal numbers.

“Say 40,000 passengers a month would be normal, so at 36,000 we’re getting close.”

Duke added that the airline partners are seeing strong load factors, which he hopes will lead to increased services.

Earlier in April, it was announced WestJet would be adding four more flights between Prince George and Calgary, and that Air Canada was adding an extra flight to Vancouver this Summer.

“We’re really happy to see that added capacity come into the market,” Duke said.

“With the Calgary offering, increasing to nine a week later in the Summer, with really good connections into the hub flights out of Calgary, and similarly the added flight by Air Canada to Vancouver later in the day allows people to spend the day here in Prince George, perhaps come out to the airport a little early and have dinner at Farmhouse.”

Duke added he doesn’t think the Tucson flights offered by Flair Airlines had a lot to do with the increase in traffic.

“We’re thinking more long-term for the Tucson market, we know the opportunity there is to grow that into a destination for Prince George, so it’s going to take a bit longer,”

“They did see good solid numbers around Spring Break in March, which contributed overall to that number.”

Duke added they’re working with Flair to develop their Winter schedule, as well as their other airline partners to add regional routes.

“It’s sort of an ongoing process, and sharing information, and seeing what might work for our airline partners to help drive both capacity up in the number of seats, and then the number of destinations people can travel to.”