Work will begin this summer on Charlottetown Airport's terminal expansion

Work will begin this summer on an expansion to the terminal at Charlottetown's airport to help it cope with an ever-increasing number of passengers. 

The airport authority held its annual general meeting on Tuesday to update the public on the renovations, which are expected to be completed by 2027.

The expansion will start at the end of the building where passengers check in for their flights, and will include more counters, more space for lineups and a larger lobby area. 

Charlottetown Airport Authority CEO Doug Newson said the work won't cause much disruption this year. 

"Passengers and people coming to the airport will certainly see the start of an addition to the south end of the terminal building, which will take 16 to 18 months to complete," he said. 

"It's really when we get into renovating, expanding inside the terminal in the next couple years after this phase is completed [when] people will probably see a bit more inconvenience, but we're certainly going to do our best to mitigate any impact to day-to-day operations." 

The airport surpassed all previous passenger records last year with 402,686 travellers passing through the gates. That was an 18 per cent increase over 2022 and a five per cent jump from the previous record year, 2019. 

Something else that's increased dramatically is the cost of the terminal expansion — from about $20 million two years ago to $40 million. 

The surge in passenger traffic will help offset the soaring cost, Newson said, but the authority is also discussing potential funding opportunities with the P.E.I. government.  

"We are in a very strong financial position going into this project that even if there isn't funding available we'll be able to get it done and finance it accordingly and hopefully minimize the impacts on fees and charges to our passengers," he said.

Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I. CEO Corryn Clemence is happy about the terminal building's expansion.

The province's new five-year tourism strategy includes a focus on increasing air travel, especially in the spring, fall and winter.

"It's so important for all of us to be able to travel to see other parts of the world, to visit family and also to have visitors come to see us, so that air access year round is so important," she said. 

Summer flights starting earlier

Newson said summer season flights are beginning earlier than usual this year. 

Flair just started flying to and from P.E.I. again on Monday after cutting its fall and winter flights to and from the province last year. 

WestJet still doesn't have as many flights to the Island as it did before the pandemic. Newson said the airport authority is working to bring some of those flights back.