The Saint John Airport Sees Brighter Days Ahead

SAINT JOHN–The management of the Saint John Airport provided updates to community groups, government, corporate partners, and the general public on December 13.

The Airport Community Consultative Committee includes representatives of the Saint John Regional Chamber, Envision Saint John, NAV Canada, the provincial government, Port Saint John, and others.

During a virtual meeting on Tuesday, Saint John Airport interim president and CEO Greg Hierlihy said he was thankful flights returned partway through the year.

“We had Air Canada, who have daily flights to primary hubs of Montreal and Toronto, and we started in June. We currently have two per day–both of those destinations which provide connections to the Air Canada network,” Hierlihy said.

Flair Airlines launched in July and will add more flights toward the end of March.

Porter Airlines began offering flights again in October and PAL Airlines started service to Halifax in July, which was suspended until the spring.

Hierlihy said the airport is looking at 45,000 passengers for 2021, about 16 percent of 2019’s numbers.

“In our more recent months, we have seen about 40 percent of pre-Covid numbers, month-to-month comparison. These numbers are in line with what other airports in Atlantic Canada and across the country have been experiencing,” Hierlihy said.

With the addition of Flair Airlines, more seating was added around the departure gates for another 50 people.

The airport also made adjustments near the restaurant to make lineups at the Flair counter more manageable and understandable.

David Duplisea, Saint John Region Chamber CEO, offered thanks to the airport’s staff and management for their efforts in a difficult year.

“Anything that we can do to help you to recover more quickly from the pandemic, we are more than willing to help you with that. As the discussions go forward about the economic impacts on the airport, we will continue to lobby hard to keep those economic benefits in our region,” Duplisea said.

Tamara Steele is a reporter with CHSJ/Country 94, Huddle content partners.