Passenger traffic is nearly 90% of pre-COVID levels, says Kamloops airport director

The number of people travelling through the Kamloops airport are now at nearly 90% of pre-COVID levels, says Managing Director Ed Ratuski.

On Monday, the airport issued the traveller numbers for the first quarter of 2024.

Overall, there was a 10.8% increase during the first three months of the year, when compared to the same time period last year.

In the first quarter of 2023, the airport recorded 80,867 travellers.

This year, that number hit 89,588.

“Passenger numbers for the first quarter of 2024 reflect the continued recovery of the passenger traffic to pre-pandemic levels,” says Ratuski in the news release.

“During the first quarter, there were significant increases in both inbound traffic to Sun Peaks and outbound travelers to sun destinations.”

January and February both saw over 30,000 passengers, marking a 10,1% and 16.7% increase from last year, respectively.

March saw a slight dip with 29,481 passenger numbers recorded.

That is only a 5.9% increase from March 2023, where 27,838 passengers were recorded.

As the number of people visiting the Kamloops airport continues to increase, airport officials say they are encouraged to see that Pacific Coastal, WestJet and Air Canada are maintaining flight schedules to meet passenger demands ahead of the busy summer season.