Deer Lake Regional Airport says while things are slowly starting to improve, it will take them years to rebound from the pandemic.
Airport CEO Tammy Priddle says they’re looking forward to a busy summer season after passenger numbers fell short of projections.
The airport predicted an 85 per cent capacity, but only saw about 80 per cent of travellers during the winter months.
Though they’re seeing fewer passengers than expected, Priddle says many flights are still full and she expects things to ramp up heading into the tourism season.
Since WestJet cancelled all service to Deer Lake, Air Canada has added routes and low-cost carriers Flair and Swoop are returning for the summer.
(Photo courtesy Swoop, WestJet.)
Despite things looking up, Priddle says they don’t expect to return to pre-pandemic business for another couple of years.
She says Atlantic Canadian airports are recovering at a 10 per cent slower rate in comparison to the rest of the country. Based on current operations, they don’t expect to fully recover until 2025.
