The pandemic has been hard on air travel and Gander International Airport has been feeling the pinch, forcing the facility to re-evaluate it’s measure of success.

Passenger numbers for 2021 were down 63 per cent over pre-pandemic volumes in 2019. The 63,330 passengers that passed through the airport last year was the second lowest number in the airport’s recorded history.

Gander International Airport Authority CEO Reg Wright says the numbers are a direct result of the pandemic.

He says the summer was a “pleasant surprise” with an increase in traffic thanks to an ease in travel restrictions, but the emergence of Omicron in December “changed things quickly.”

Wright says government money has helped airport authorities that have been “hemorrhaging money” over the last two years.

“Our measures of success have changed so much now” says Wright. It’s not about how much money you can make and reinvest in your facility he indicates, but about providing a safe environment for workers and passengers, and protecting the balance sheet as much as possible.