Relief in sight for congested airport, construction of new terminal moved ahead.

Relief in sight for congested airport, construction of new terminal moved ahead

A major overhaul of the Thunder Bay Airport is planned for the middle of this decade.

The biggest priority will be a new terminal building to alleviate severe congestion for passengers.

The earliest a new facility had been expected was 1996 or 1997.

However, Transport Minister Doug Lewis visited the city last month and announced that construction of a new terminal will be accelerated, with a target completion date of February 1995.

Airport manager Paul Conrad explains that the change was made to prepare the airport for the World Nordic Ski Championships in 1995.

The major international event will focus much international media attention on the city.

In the interim a $1.6-million project will create more space in the two holdrooms and streamline the customs area.

A new $1.5-million firehall will also be built on the infield at the airport, and further work will create new temporary offices for management.

CONTINUED GROWTH

In 1989 there were 527,000 passengers either landing at or departing from the airport. The total for 1990 will be about 590,000 passengers.

It's estimated that by 1996 the number will rise dramatically to 814,000 passengers.

Those numbers are the reason a new terminal will be needed, explains Conrad. "It's not feasible to add on to this one again."

The terminal is only designed to accommodate 240 passengers at once, instead of its current rush-hour crowds of 340 people.

By 1996 it is estimated that, with a normal schedule, that number will be approaching 680.

The congestion creates problems with cross-flows, and there is also a lack of fire alarms, sprinklers and emergency exits at the airport for that number of passengers.

The airport terminal was originally constructed in 1953, with additions in 1968 and 1978.

There is also insufficient apron, the area in front of the terminal building used for unloading and loading.

Conrad said the only way to get increased apron space is to build a new terminal further to the south, behind the present structure. After the new terminal is completed, the current one would be razed and the land infilled to expand the apron.

The extra apron space would permit two loading bridges to be added, which would allow passengers to board and depart aircraft without having to venture out into the elements.

Without loading bridges, there is also a safety concern on the busy aprons with slips and falls in winter.

Conrad notes that many people question why the airport doesn't already have a loading bridge. "We just don't have the space," he explains.

The estimated cost for the new terminal and associated work is $32 million. That includes the new building, an apron expansion, relocation of the ground transportation facilities, drainage, removal of the operations building and removal of the Kelner Airways Ltd. hangar to add to the apron space.

NEED IDENTIFIED

The need for a new terminal building was identified in 1975. However, the project kept being delayed for a number of reasons.

In 1975 the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, backed by city council, presented a brief suggesting that the airport be relocated because of a shortage of good land in the city for residential expansion.

However, a study on the airport by Transport Canada recommended that the airport stay in the same location.

There was also a suggestion that the terminal building be constructed on the north side of the airport, which was also studied and rejected.

The third delay was in 1985 when Transport Canada introduced `Freedom to Move', a policy paper directing change to the National Transportation Act, also known as deregulation.

Transport Canada then had to study what impact deregulation would have on operations.

Deregulation has affected airlines and airports, including Thunder Bay, which has become a hub airport linking northwestern Ontario to Winnipeg to the west and Toronto to the southeast.

Hub airports like Thunder Bay have had to accommodate both an increasing volume of traffic and a greater variety of aircraft as the result of deregulation. The impact has been generally favorable in terms of revenue but, it has often resulted in the need for substantial capacity increases.

"There's no quick fixes, particularly in the case of Thunder Bay," says Conrad.

The city is currently served by Air Canada, Canadian Airlines International, Air Ontario, Canadian Partner, Bearskin Airlines, NorOntair, Kelner Airways, Awood Air, Mid Can Air and Frontier Airlines.

The 842-acre Thunder Bay airport is the third busiest in the province, after Toronto and Ottawa. It is the 16th busiest in Canada.

The airport has two runways, one 6,200 feet and the other 5,300 feet. The runways have eight aprons and five taxiways.

"It's certainly adequate for the type of aircraft we have in here," Conrad says.

There were 118,952 total aircraft movements recorded at Thunder Bay in 1988, including major and regional/local carriers, and general and itinerant aviation.

Since 1983 the airport has also experienced an increase of more than 400 per cent in feeder traffic.

A study in 1989 by Professor Witold Jankowski of the economics department at Lakehead University illustrated the importance of the airport to the city's economy.

In 1988 the direct impact was $82.2 million. The 887-person-years of employment created by the airport generated an income of $17.1 million.

The indirect impact was calculated at $89.9 million and the indirect person-years of employment was 924, for an income of $14.5 million.