Sault airport traffic slowly recovers from pandemic
While improving, air traffic in the Sault is currently at three-quarters of pre-COVID-19 pandemic numbers.
At its lowest point during COVID-19, traffic was just four per cent of normal levels. The recovery, while slow, is faster than expected, airport officials said Friday.
"The passenger levels are actually trending a little better than we anticipated," said Sault Ste. Marie Airport CEO. Terry Bos.
Bos said the bounce-back needs to continue, since federal funding to keep the airport afloat has come and gone and it's now relying on regular traffic for revenues.
"We used to be somewhere in the range of between 16,000 and 20,000 a month, depending on the month," he said.
"So we were about 210,000-215,000 in a year. Currently we're still shy of 14,000 in the last month. So like I said, there's still a long ways to go, but it's certainly a promising trend."
A return of post-secondary students will help traffic keep trending upward.
"We anticipate that Sault College and Algoma University are going to be back to full capacity in class," Bos said.
"So we always get a nice bump from the international students and the out-of-town students that fly in and out. So August, September, October are normally really good months."
There is also a need for major airline's to restore regular service.
Pre-pandemic, there were about four more Air Canada flights and one more Porter flight per day than there are now.
Airport officials expect a return of Sunwing Airlines this winter will further help the recovery.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.