Proposed Expansion Benefits the Community

Ongoing Improvements and proposed expansion benefits our entire community!

Your airport is planning an $11-million expansion of the air terminal building that will improve services to passengers and possibly lead to more connecting flights to destinations around the world.

The work will expand floor space in the existing Air Terminal Building, create more room for the CATSA/G4S (the people who provide security screening), modernize and relocate the existing car rental agency space.

Bottom line: It will alleviate congestion and accommodate future passenger and cargo traffic growth. After all, passenger traffic in 2014 was approximately 270,000 — a record, and a 60% increase from 2011!

So what will this proposed expansion mean to our neighbours and other residents who rely on Nanaimo Airport?

Well, you’ll see recognizable improvements in efficiency and comfort while starting or ending your travels. You will enjoy better access to airport facilities. You and your family will have more on-site job opportunities, both during the construction period and afterwards, and greater labour mobility, as commuting to jobs outside of Central Vancouver Island will become easier. And your businesses will definitely see more opportunities.

All those benefits are the reasons this project is a cornerstone of Nanaimo Airport Commission’s 20-Year Capital Plan. Our mission is to provide reliable, safe, and expanded air services to meet the projected growth of Central Vancouver Island well into the 21st Century.

The project could start this fall, if the airport commission’s application for $7.3 from the federal and provincial governments’ New Building Canada Fund is successful. The airport will contribute $3.7 million.

By the March 2018 target date for completion, your airport will provide the economic infrastructure necessary for the region to develop to its full potential.

Ongoing improvements are part of our responsibility to serve and enrich our community. We take great pride in being your airport of choice.

And that’s why the work will never stop here.