Charlottetown Airport gets $1M in provincial funding to help it rebound

The P.E.I. government is providing the Charlottetown Airport Authority with $1 million in funding aimed at helping the Island's tourism industry rebound to pre-pandemic levels — and attract even more passengers in the coming years.

Speaking at the authority's annual public meeting Tuesday morning, Tourism Minister Cory Deagle said the Island's trade and tourism industries can't grow without reliable air access to the Island.

"Prince Edward Island has a lot to be proud of in terms of how we've recovered from the pandemic," he said.

"People are excited to come back to P.E.I. and that's a great thing for everyone. I know our industry is going to take this opportunity and run with it."

Passenger travel through the airport in 2022 reached 89 per cent of the peak levels seen in 2019 — a rebound that wasn't expected until 2024 or even 2025.

"With all the things that happened in P.E.I. during the pandemic, last summer there was a lot of pent-up demand for air travel and so people came to P.E.I. in droves," said airport CEO Doug Newson.

"The future for 2023 and beyond looks even better."

$20M terminal expansion

Newson said 2022 started out slowly due to the lingering effects of the pandemic, but record monthly numbers of passengers moved through the airport starting in June.

Officials are already forecasting a record-breaking year in 2023.

"We're going to have five airlines flying here this summer. We've never seen five airlines flying to seven different destinations," Newson said.

"Provided we have another strong year for tourism on Prince Edward Island, we believe that we'll hit record passenger numbers in 2023. And who knows what the future looks like?"

The airport is undergoing a $20-million expansion of the passenger terminal building, including a bigger lounge with more convenient seating, more space for people to line up for security screening, and an outdoor seating area that Newson believes is the first of its kind in Canada.