Passenger numbers are soaring at Victoria International Airport, where the forecast calls for new record highs this year and in the future.
A total of 1.85 million passengers are expected to pass through the airport by year end, up by eight per cent from 1.7 million last year. October alone delivered a 14 per cent increase in passengers compared with the same month last year, and September was up by 13.4 per cent.
Geoff Dickson, president and chief executive at the Victoria Airport Authority, said after more than 30 years in the transportation industry he has “not seen numbers like this before.”
“This is actually the 36th consecutive month of record passenger traffic.” The airport first topped one million passengers in 1998. By 2010, there were 1.5 million passengers.
The Airport Authority’s long-term planning had “broadly projected” two million passengers by 2020. But Dickson said that figure may be reached by 2018.
If numbers continue to climb, next year might bring 1.925 million passengers, he said.
Higher passenger numbers are driven by a number of factors.
The capital region has just come off a record tourism year. Visiting Americans get a favourable exchange rate compared with the Canadian dollar. Victoria is also a popular destination for Canadians, Dickson said.
“Vancouver Airport has done a “phenomenal job of growing its international services, so you see new routes such as Mexico City, Paris, Delhi, and Brisbane, to name a few,” Dickson said. This opens up more markets and connections for Victoria, he said.
WestJet Encore is growing and offering more opportunities to connect. Its Q400 planes have up to 78 seats, compared with its previously smaller aircraft with 30 to 50 seats, Dickson said.
Low-fare airline NewLeaf Travel Co. is also expected to return to Victoria next year.
The federal government announced this month it will increase the allowed cap of foreign ownership in domestic airlines, which would open up possibilities for low-fare airlines in Canada. Dickson is optimistic that Victoria would be included in the plans of low-fare airlines.
More passengers mean more infrastructure is needed. About $30 million is being spent this year on a multi-phase apron and terminal expansion. This includes increasing apron size by 279,861 square feet to add three more overnight parking spots for planes.
A construction project to add 200 parking spaces is also underway, scheduled to be finished by Dec. 15, in time for the Christmas crunch. Another 114 temporary spaces are being added for overflow to the west side of the compound.
The projects will bring the total parking area to 2,150 vehicles.
“One of the biggest challenges we find in keeping up with demand is parking,” Dickson said.
Over the past two years, more than 600 parking spaces have been added, a 30 per cent increase, he said. “And we are still getting close to capacity. We had mapped out this parking plan to take us to 2021, 2022. We are just having to step back and re-evaluate the next level of parking expansion.”
Next year’s proposals will be presented to the Airport Authority’s board in December. These include doubling the size of the lower departures room by expanding to the north, and continued investment in runways.
“I think Victoria is certainly poised for growth. As an airport, it is certainly our challenge and responsibility to facilitate that and enable it,” Dickson said.
The Airport Authority’s programs strive to be “just a little bit ahead of the demand curve but not too far in front but not behind it.”
