Regina Airport not quite back to pre-pandemic passenger levels in 2023

Even with high inflation rates and debt to pay off, James Bogusz, president and CEO of the Regina Airport Authority, said the airport has a viable business model to sustain itself.

“I’m a very happy CEO looking forward to 2024 and beyond. We are not back to pre-pandemic levels quite yet,” Bogusz said. “We hope to see that happen towards the end of this year, or in 2025.”

Bogusz said passenger volumes were only at 63 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in January, but that rose to 103 per cent in December.

The Regina Airport Authority had its annual general meeting at the Queensbury Convention Centre at the REAL District on Thursday. Bogusz said the year had a bumpy start, with Sunwing flight cancellations and Air Canada discontinuing Regina’s flight to Calgary.

While there are many factors that are out of the airport’s control, Bogusz said the biggest struggle at the moment is with inflation.

“Inflation has been devastating. Everything we purchase costs more,” Bogusz said. “Labour services and supplies – it all drives added costs.

“Unfortunately, at the end of the day, when we take on more costs as the airport we have to raise our fees and charges to compensate.”

On April 1, the authority raised its passenger facility fee by an additional $10 to $30. On the same date, the Authority raised landing fees and general terminal fees by five per cent.

Lynx air was supposed to hit the airport’s runway in June, but a month after it was announced in January, the airline pulled its operations.

At Agribition in November, a daily connection from Regina to Minneapolis was announced by WestJet. That flight will operate 365 days of the year, and started on April 28.

The runway revitalization project wrapped up in September, costing $26.7 million. The entire main runway was repaved, something that happens only once every 10-to-15 years. Construction was delayed in late May after a worker died in a serious accident.

Bogusz said the airport’s debt has risen to $50 million due to the major project.

But despite some struggles, Bogusz said he feels the airport is in its best financial position since the pandemic.

“I’m very pleased with what I’m seeing, and we are progressing the right way,” he said.

In 2024, Bogusz said he expects passenger volumes to be around 93 per cent capacity, or a little over a million passengers.