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The sky’s the limit for the Saskatoon Airport Authority, according to president and CEO Stephen Maybury.
During an update on the airport Wednesday, Maybury said 2021 saw 440,000 passengers at the airport — or 30 per cent of normal, pre-pandemic levels.
“My goodness, that’s much better than it has been in the past during the pandemic, so it was trending in the right direction. Moving to 2022, we are much more optimistic. We’re currently forecasting a 58 per cent recovery,” he said.
That amounts to around 840,000 passengers. Prior to the pandemic, the airport had around 1.5 million passengers each year. Maybury’s hoping that will be the case by 2024.
Late in 2021, the airport authority also received federal approval to restore international flight capability.
“That enabled Sunwing and WestJet to come in and offer some multiple sun spot destinations for the community,” said Maybury.
But not all international flights are back yet, and one that he hopes will be reinstated is a direct flight to Minneapolis.
“The most strategic one that we are pursuing right now is that Delta Airlines flight … It was the only location in Saskatchewan that had a non-stop flight, Delta Airlines to Minneapolis,” Maybury said.
“That was just so important for inbound tourism as well as outbound passengers. That brought all the outfitters in, and then they could connect up north. So we’re definitely focusing on that.”
This year, the airport’s primary runway and apron will be restored with federal critical infrastructure funding. Inside the terminal, Maybury said there’s now touchless processing for passengers, and more space for arrivals in the international terminal.
