Regional airports move ahead with expansion plans
Abbotsford International will get additional taxiways as part of a $30-million upgrade
By Brian Morton, Vancouver SunApril 26, 2010
FLIGHT PATTERNS -- Abbotsford International Airport is spending $30 million to construct taxiways parallel to its existing runways so that planes do not have to use the runways themselves to shuttle to and from the terminal. Passenger numbers have jumped nearly five-fold since 2002, and further growth is expected.
Photograph by: graphic by Maggie Wong, Vancouver Sun files
VANCOUVER —
Two regional airports within a short drive of Vancouver, Abbotsford and Bellingham, are moving ahead with major expansions as they prepare for growing passenger volumes in the years ahead.
"This will allow our aircraft to land and exit [the runway] immediately," Mike Pastro, general manager of Abbotsford International Airport, said of plans to construct two taxiways parallel to the airport's existing runways. "It effectively doubles our capacity" by allowing planes to get to and from the terminal without doubling back on the busy landing strips, he said.
"It also helps us fulfil our role as the backup to YVR [Vancouver International Airport], if aircraft have to be diverted."
As part of a $55-million infrastructure deal with the City of Abbotsford and the provincial and federal governments, $30 million will be injected into the airport, adding the taxiways to double the arrival rate, increase aircraft parking space, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing aircraft taxi times and delays, and improve international trade by growing the capacity to handle larger planes.
The expansion, with construction set to begin within weeks and be completed by the end of this year, is meant to position the airport for growth in both the medium and long terms.
That growth will include increased tourism and business-traveller traffic. The airport presently handles about 120,000 takeoffs and landings each year, with annual growth averaging five to seven per cent.
Bellingham International Airport also recently announced that its runway and taxiway will be reconstructed this year in a $29-million project that will allow the airport to handle planes as large as a 757, which holds 220 passengers.
That expansion is expected to increase the number of both U.S. travellers and Canadians heading across the border for flights throughout the U.S.
"There will be expanded destinations and there will be new ridership, including from Canada," Art Choat, director of aviation for the Bellingham airport, said in an interview. "About 55 per cent [of our ridership] is now Canadian. It's a very important element [for the airport]."
The project, the largest construction project in the 90-year history of the Port of Bellingham, will include rehabilitation of the runway and reconstruction and widening of the parallel taxiway. It is expected to begin in May and be completed by the end of September. The airport will close for three weeks in September to allow for paving of the 2,042-metre runway and work on the taxiway.
Choat said another $28 million will be spent over the next five years renovating the commercial terminal. When completed, he said, "there will be expanded destinations."
Choat said the airport has experienced strong growth over the past few years, and that is expected to continue. "In 2002-03, we had 68,000 passengers a year outbound. And last year, it was 328,000. At our current clip, it will be 375,000 for 2010."
Jean-Paul Laube, business development manager for the Abbotsford airport, said that the planned expansion positions the airport for future growth.
"We're not targeting for any particular type of [flyer], but international [flights] is a segment we're going after. And we'd love to get back some of the business that's going to Bellingham. This will position us to grow comfortably and efficiently without hitting any capacity constraints."
Pastro said the airport is also pursuing a business development plan that will see more domestic and international flights.
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