Charlottetown, PE – Charlottetown Airport Authority (CAA) held its Annual Public Meeting this morning, this year in a virtual format to comply with COVID-19 public health restrictions.
The Airport Authority highlighted some of its many accomplishments from 2019, including the completion of the 2040 Master Plan and the release of an economic impact study which detailed the importance of the Charlottetown Airport to the economy of Prince Edward Island. The Airport Authority also touched on record growth in 2019 as over 383,000 passengers went through the airport last year. This resulted in a 3.4% increase over 2018, and marked the 4th consecutive year of passenger traffic growth at YYG.
The Airport Authority also spoke to the fact that 2020 plans originally included launching 3 new flights, a terminal expansion design, and record traffic projections.
“By mid-March, our plans changed and we have spent the past 3 months adapting to new plans, and a new reality, due to COVID-19,” said Doug Newson, Airport Authority CEO. “COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our operations, our finances, and the great people that work at our airport.”
The Airport Authority noted that traffic is down 97% over the past 2 months, and given the current ban on non-essential travel to the province, along with the 14-day self-isolation requirement, they are expecting to see similar trends in the months ahead unless these restrictions change.
“Most airlines and airports are forecasting it could take 4 to 5 years before we fully recover to 2019 levels. We are expecting passenger traffic to be down by over 80% in 2020,” says Newson. “Although these are tough numbers to swallow, we will continue to work with airlines, airport counterparts, the federal government, and local health officials to implement measures and protocols that will increase consumer confidence so that once people are ready and able to travel again, we will be here to provide the safest airport experience possible.”
During the meeting, the Airport Authority also announced a new brand – YYG Charlottetown Airport. This new brand combines the official name “Charlottetown Airport” and the airport code “YYG”. With this reveal also comes the launch of a new bilingual website, www.flyYYG.com.
“Although we are in the midst of a global pandemic, we felt it was important to complete this project, not only because it has been under development for over a year, but we also wanted to show our staff, tenants, and the province of PEI that we are moving forward and we will be here to serve you on the other side of this pandemic”, says Vanessa Smith, Manager, Marketing & Communications.
The 2019 Annual Report can be found at: https://flyyyg.com/corporate/about-yyg/annual_reports/