Edmonton airport gets $25M from Ottawa to cover COVID-19 losses
Edmonton International Airport will get about $25 million in federal funding to offset COVID-19's impact and complete projects it put off while ridership was low.
The cash consists of $18.5 million from Transport Canada's Airport Critical Infrastructure Program and nearly $6.2 million from the national Airport Relief Fund.
EIA was one of many airports across Canada closed to international flights in March 2020. It will only begin accepting American routes on Aug. 9 and travellers from other countries on Sept. 7, when border restrictions ease.
In 2020, the number of flyers who passed through the airport dropped from 8.1 million to 2.6 million. In the first half of 2021, only 700,000 passengers had travelled through Edmonton – one sixth of normal traffic, estimated EIA's president and CEO Tom Ruth.
"This feels like one more step in our journey toward recovery and that's never been more vital for our airport, for industry, and for economic recovery," he said.
Ridership noticeably increased over the previous week, Ruth added; the airport has been counting about 5,000 outbound passengers daily.
The money from the federal government and relief fund will help to maintain EIA's services. The $18.5 million from the infrastructure program will fund runway, safety area, airfield lighting, and aircraft apron upgrades.
Neither of Ottawa's contributions require flight prices to be kept at similar levels, but officials said the cash will prevent pandemic costs from being put on customers.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra flew into EIA for the announcement. It was the third visit by a federal government member in July.
"I know there are all kinds of political sometimes football that takes place," Alghabra said, "but notwithstanding that, I'm here and so are other ministers to demonstrate to Albertans and to entire country how important Alberta to Canada and how important Alberta to our government is."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Calgary at the beginning of the month to meet with Alberta's premier and the city's mayor.
And Canada's infrastructure minister was in Edmonton days earlier to announce money had been greenlit for the city's LRT extension project.
Correction
An earlier version of this article stated EIA would receive $24.7 million in addition to the funding from the infrastructure and relief programs. The story has been corrected to reflect it will receive a total of $24.7 million.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.