Calgary airport receives almost $2M in federal funding to recover from pandemic

Ottawa is handing out almost $2 million in funding to help the Calgary International Airport recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bob Sartor, president and CEO of the Calgary Airport Authority, spoke at a news conference Tuesday at the airport, where federal officials announced the funding. 

Sartor said the pandemic has led to difficult times for airports across the country. 

"Our airport, like most, endured significant financial impact during the pandemic. In other words, every major airport took on tons of debt," he said.

The $1.9 million in federal funding, which comes from Transport Canada's airport critical infrastructure program, is meant to help YYC improve flight scheduling and connection times, as well as establish new corridors for better physical distancing.

Ottawa gave the Calgary airport $57.4 million last August under the same Transport Canada program to improve one of its runways. 

Staffing shortages and flight delays

George Chahal, member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview, said the funding will help "raise the bar" for travellers' experience at YYC.

"Canadians rightfully expect a smooth and seamless experience when flying, and our government will continue to take steps to hold airlines accountable throughout their return to pre-pandemic levels of travel," he said.

But staffing shortages at airports and airlines have caused many not-so-seamless experiences for Canadian air travellers as delays and cancellations become more common across the country.

Sartor said the Calgary airport is still struggling with staffing issues.

"There are some things that have to happen, and one of them is we need to get pilots certified. We need to get more staff. The air carriers do, and we certainly need staff, and even if I hire somebody today, they may not start till November," he said. 

Annie Koutrakis, parliamentary secretary to the minister of transport, said she understands passengers' frustration with wait times at airports.

"We're doing the very best that we can. Obviously, when you look at the situation earlier on in the summer season, June and July, the problems were much more evident. But there is a significant improvement across the system," she said.

According to data published last week by Transport Canada, 87 per cent of passengers at Canada's four largest airports — Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary — went through security screening within 15 minutes in the week of Aug. 8 to 14. In the first week of July, that rate was 79 per cent.

For the Calgary airport, 89 per cent of passengers went through security screening within 15 minutes in the second week of August. That's better than 2019 pre-pandemic levels, which averaged 87 per cent, according to Transport Canada.