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The Regina Airport Authority’s James Bogusz has noticed the return to air travel this summer.
He says YQR “really feels like an airport once again” and the numbers bear that out. At one time, passenger traffic fell to under 10 per cent of pre-pandemic levels but has since rebounded, although not fully.
“We’ve seen the dial turn in the last three weeks,” Bogusz said. “We’ve actually seen her passenger volumes start hovering around 40 per cent of pre-pandemic passenger levels.
“It’s much busier, seeing families reunite is incredible, and also seeing all the flights that are being offered out of YQR has been very exciting.”
Bogusz said about 1.2 million passengers pass through the airport in a typical year.
With more travellers in the terminal, the merchants are running longer hours, he said. You can grab a coffee once you pass security. The children’s play area is also now open.
Most people are going to Calgary — a hub and gateway to the U.S. and beyond — according to Bogusz. Other major destinations include Vancouver and Toronto.
The entry of ultra-low cost carrier Flair Airlines is also tapping into a market Bogusz believes hasn’t been targeted. These people tend to travel by car but have shown to be willing to fly for the right price.
“When you’re advertising flights at well under $100 into markets like Vancouver for example, it starts making people think, ‘You know what, I might just jump on a plane go see some friends or maybe go for a weekend,'” he said.
It’s also driving competition, Bogusz said, leading airlines like WestJet and Air Canada to respond.
This past weekend saw the first-ever nonstop flight from Regina to Montreal. The triangle route, Bogusz says, connects with Saskatoon on the way back.
Typically, Air Canada offers the flight to Ottawa but decided Montreal would be “a better bank for this year.”
“I think it’s a great opportunity for Air Canada to test this market, see what types of loads they have, and then hopefully in the future as we really start rebuilding, we can hopefully encourage them to offer Montreal and Ottawa.”
Masks are no longer mandatory in public areas at the airport. However, they are still required on the plane and when going through security.