KELOWNA — A $90 million expansion of the terminal at Kelowna’s airport, delayed because of the pandemic, will begin in 2023.
The two-year project will see an enlarged pre-board security screening area and departures lounge, which airport officials say is key to attracting more flights and airlines to Kelowna International Airport.
It had originally been forecast to cost $67 million, but the delay due to a significant downturn in airport activity the past two years has led to a revised budget of $90.2 million.
Another major expansion, a new arrivals area at the south end of the existing terminal, is planned to get underway in 2029 with completion in 2031.
It’s expected to cost at least $70 million currently, though the budget will likely rise because of inflation as the actual start of construction draws nearer.
Kelowna city councilors will get an update on the airport’s 10-year capital plan at Monday’s meeting.
Other significant projects planned for the next decade include a new lighting system to guide in-bound aircraft. The multi-colored “high intensity” lights will indicate different zones for pilots as they bring their planes in for a landing.
Installation of the approach lights will require the airport to buy land north of its current property line adjacent to Old Vernon Road, the report to council states. The $10.3 million project is planned for 2025.
Work on a $15 million new combined operations building to house firefighters, mechanics, and some airport management staff will get underway next year, with completion in 2025.
Passenger numbers tumbled at Kelowna International Airport with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. In 2019, just over two million passengers traveled through the terminal, but that fell to 700,000 in 2020 and 850,000 last year.
Expectations are that this year will see about 1.75 million passengers use the airport, with Kelowna International Airport said to have one of Canada’s fastest-recovery rates.
Parking fees at the airport will rise in January based on the inflation rate, but there are no proposed increases to the $25 airport improvement fee paid by all departing passengers, or the terminal and landing fees charged to airlines.
