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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
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.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.