22 October 2020
Francis McGuire, President
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Blue Cross Centre
644 Main Street
P.O. Box 6051
Moncton, New Brunswick E1C 9J8
Via Email: francis.mcguire@canada.ca
Re: Air Service in New Brunswick
Dear Francis:
As you are aware, the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce is an active partner and interested stakeholder in the Fredericton International Airport and air access within Atlantic Canada more generally. Being engaged in the discourse around this air access, we have been made aware of proposals to ACOA to study air transportation in New Brunswick, aimed at evaluating the idea of reducing air service in our province and limiting it to only one airport in the province.
In our opinion, this would be the worst possible time to launch such a study as we are still in the fledgling stages of a 100-year pandemic and a global economic crisis unlike anything we’ve experienced in our lifetimes. This is even more true for the airline industry and air travel than other industries – and particularly in Atlantic Canada, given the “Atlantic Bubble” that has been in place for six months with no end in sight.
In short, the data that could be collected at this time would be a snapshot of an economic climate that could not be comprehended less than a year ago and will not exist in a short number of years. Airlines are temporarily pulling back from service across the globe – this is not unique to our region – as evidenced by Porter Airlines pausing their operations entirely.
The fact that our airports have seen passenger declines of upwards for 95% is not a reason to look at shutting down air service in Atlantic Canada – quite the opposite. It’s a time to provide temporary, targeted government support to get our airports through the crisis. Our airports have seen month-over-month and year-over-year growth for nearly a decade prior to the pandemic, which was continuing into 2020 before the COVID-19 crisis hit home. Any business in any industry would be eager to have this kind of success and be actively investing in their operation – and this is exactly what was happening at our airports, particularly in Fredericton and Moncton, which have seen major infrastructure upgrades recently in an effort to accommodate their steady growth trajectories.
Furthermore, this recent prolonged growth has been key to economic development throughout the region and we agree with the Province’s former Chief Economist, David Campbell, who wrote in his blog earlier this month that closing or consolidating airports in New Brunswick is short-sighted and will hamper economic growth:
The bigger point is that government needs to a) ensure we don’t lose our airports in the short term, and b) the system swings back to ‘normal’ post-pandemic….
I know there are those of you who would like everyone to drive to a single airport somewhere even if it takes 2-3 hours to get there. You will argue that on average your total travel time will be shorter because that single airport would have more and more frequent routes (and lower costs). Maybe, but you still have this lingering long term reality that cities/towns without an airport over the long run have much lower economic growth than those that do …”
So, for now don’t panic.
Access to an international airport is essential for our region’s businesses. They use this close and convenient air access to connect with clients, ship goods, bring in investors, and facilitate travel between head offices and satellite locations. Many businesses have made their decision on location in part because of proximity to the airport. We also know that the travel coming through our airport generates sales for businesses from taxis to hotels to storefronts, boosting the region’s tourism, conference, and retail businesses.
The pandemic won’t last forever, and we should remember that airports are economic drivers in-and-of-themselves. Here in Fredericton, the airport has seen a decade of consistent, record-breaking growth and in 2017 an independent study determined that YFC contributed 38.8 million in GDP, $8 million in taxes, and supported 662 jobs in our region. In response to this decade of growth, the federal and provincial governments partnered with the airport authority to fund a $23-million expansion and renovation of the Fredericton International Airport, which is almost complete. Shuttering this new facility would put New Brunswickers out of work, waste taxpayer’s money, and be a death blow to many of our region’s businesses.
While COVID-19 has been extremely challenging for the aviation sector, our region and our airport are resilient. Given the appropriate support, we will recover. The airport is a vital part of this support, and we have seen throughout this pandemic how important this air connection to the world also is for essential travelers, military, and the movement of goods and services.
Sincerely,
Krista Ross
CEO, Fredericton Chamber of Commerce
