Regina airport sees increase in passenger volume

The Regina airport is slowly seeing an uptick in passengers, but traffic is still nowhere near what it was before COVID-19 essentially shut down travel.

James Bogusz, the CEO of the Regina Airport Authority, said passenger volume at the airport in July was about 15 per cent of what it normally would be. While that’s still a far cry from before, it is an improvement over the two per cent the airport saw in April.

“We’re anticipating being closer to 18, 19 per cent in August but we’ll have to see if the month keeps up,” Bogusz told the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Thursday.

One of the airlines bringing passengers into Regina is Flair. The low-fare airline had its first flight into Regina on Monday and it came in at over 80 per cent full.

“This was kind of surprising given a brand new flight and new service into our city. It came in from Vancouver, dropped off over 50 passengers and carried on to Toronto,” Bogusz said.

While the airport has experienced an increase, Bogusz admitted it’s tough to know what the travel demand will be like in winter.

Bogusz said people are becoming more and more comfortable when it comes to flying now.

“People are spreading the word that when they come to an airport or get in an aircraft, there’s plenty of precautions in place. I’m not here to determine people’s need to travel, that’s up to them, but when you come to our airport, we’re doing all the right things,” Bogusz said, adding mandatory temperature checks are coming in September.

He noted the 14-day quarantine to get back into Canada has been the deciding factor for many vacationers, as well as the health concerns they have.

Bogusz said the airport has been in conversations with major airlines like WestJet and Sunwing about if direct flights will be provided from Regina, but answers haven’t been received to those questions.