The Canadian Airports Council (CAC), a division of Airports Council International-North America, has spoken about the need to address federal funding criteria for six community airports in Canada. The group has also raised concerns over growing security screening wait times in the country.
Daniel-Robert Gooch, president of CAC, said, “Canada’s airports cannot answer with confidence today one of the most common questions to be posed by the traveling public: How long will it take me to get through security? Canada’s airports have confidence in the security value being provided by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), but when it comes to the passenger experience at screening, we cannot say today that our passengers are receiving value for money.”
As a result, CAC is seeking additional resources for CATSA so that it can provide an improved and more predictable level of security screening. It is also requesting a change to federal funding program criteria to allow six small airports to participate in funding initiatives, despite being located on federal land. The airports, located in Charlottetown, Fredericton, Gander, London, Prince George and Saint John, each handle fewer than 600,000 passengers a year.
“Airports are important components of local transportation infrastructure in the communities they serve,” added Gooch. “Despite several years of efforts, these six airports have been unable to participate in programs freely available to other airports and other modes of transportation. Our airports share concerns about rising costs and industry competitiveness, but without some change on this file, small airports’ funding options are limited.”