Commercial airline service at Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport could be gone by 2017 unless more passengers start using it, warns airport manager Clare Webb.
“I’m not optimistic we’ll have airline service five years from now,” he told city council Monday.
Webb said the future of commercial service is “touchy.”
“We are extremely lucky to have scheduled flights from a carrier of the calibre of Air Canada,” he said. “But there will come a day when it’s not worthwhile unless there’s a turnaround in passenger (volume).”
In 1997, when the city assumed ownership from the federal government, the local airport provided nine daily flights and catered to 50,000 passengers annually.
Over the past 15 years, flights have been reduced to three or four a day and only 20,000 to 25,000 passengers arrive or depart every year.
Sarnia’s airport is still widely used by corporate jets and small, private aircraft, says a report prepared for council by Peter Hungerford, the city’s director of economic development and corporate planning.
Since 1997, management of Chris Hadfield Airport was contracted to a private company named Scottsdale and it has not cost Sarnia taxpayers a penny, the report says.
However, about 85% of airport revenue comes directly from Air Canada, which is the only commercial airline using it.
“I worry about losing that service, even for a short time, because getting it back would be very difficult,” Webb said.
In large part, Scottsdale depends on revenue generated from a $20 per person passenger facility fee.
Several councillors asked if there was more to be done to market the airport and attract more commercial users.
Too many people fly in and out of London Airport, noted Coun. Dave Boushy.
“Every time London improves their airport, that takes a huge chunk out of our market,” agreed Coun. Mike Kelch. “I know for Imperial Oil folks on their way to Calgary, chances are they take a drive to London and hop onto a flight.”
That’s because getting a flight from London can be cheaper, Webb said. And flying south from Detroit or Flint, Michigan is less expensive than flying out of Sarnia, he said.
“But I also want to make the point that if you’re travelling from Sarnia to Toronto to catch a connector flight, it’s not necessarily more expensive.”
Webb said he believes the 18-seater commercial flights out of Chris Hadfield Airport have fewer passenger because improved technology has made travelling to Toronto easier.
Kelch said he’s nervous about the airport’s future but doesn’t believe there’s a lot the city can do about it.
“I think it will always have a place for specialty flights, for helicopters and corporate jets ... that might be where its future lies,” Kelch said.
The impending loss of Canadian Coast Guard jobs in Sarnia also has Webb concerned.
“The Coast Guard is one of our better customers. We’ll feel that as well,” he said.
City council has requested another report from Hungerford by fall to compare operations at Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport with other Ontario airports.
Source: http://www.theobserver.ca
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