Not quite a record-breaking year but a very busy year nonetheless for the Kelowna International Airport.
In 2019, a total of 2,032,144 passengers flew in and out of YLW, a drop of 1.3 per cent from 2018 and enough traffic to be named 10th busiest airport in Canada for the second year in a row.
The airport says the slight decline was due to the grounding of Boeing’s 737 max planes.
“The biggest situation was the grounding of the 737 max,” said Sam Samaddar, Kelowna International Airport’s director.
Samaddar said with the grounding of the max planes, airlines had a reduction of seats available for flights.
Boeing 737 max planes were grounded following two plane crashes that resulted in the deaths of 346 people.
Despite the grounding of the max planes, Kelowna International still expects more growth to come.
The airport says the first investment of 2020 will be renovations and upgrades worth $69 million dollars.
“We’ve seen tremendous growth over the last five years,” said Samaddar. “We’ve grown by 38 per cent.”
The rapid growth at YLW is said to be driven by expanded air services, population growth in the region and a strong economy.
To help meet the demands of the growing region, upgrades are coming to Kelowna airport.
They include expanding terminal and security screening areas, expanding the runway apron, upgrading runway lighting and infrastructure and purchasing new equipment to clear snow.
Kelowna International Airport said over the next 10 years it anticipates a total investment of $293 million dollars to expand and upgrade airport facilities, infrastructure and equipment.