Timmins airport master plan includes enlarging boarding lounge

This week, officials at the Timmins Victor M. Power Airport shared details of a new master plan that will see it through to 2042.

The Timmins Victor M. Power Airport has a new master plan that will see it through to 2042. It will be used as a guiding document for future planning and investment.

Airport officials said operations took a big hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it continues to hold ground.

“We’re doing 300 seats a day to Toronto and back, and for a population of 41,000, that’s higher than a lot of regional airports in Canada,” said airport manager Dave Dayment.

Dayment said air passenger traffic is projected to increase 1.1 per cent per year with the potential to see approximately 277,000 passengers travelling through the airport annually by 2041.

“Now we’ve got Air Canada and Porter flying both 78-seat airplanes,” he said.

“We have a transient workforce right now, there’s people coming in for Detour. Ring of Fire is on the board. Canada Nickel. So it’s time for us to get ahead of some of those things.”

Dayment said he started working on a 20-year master plan for the airport in 2022. It was presented to Timmins city council earlier this week.

Economic driver

“An airport is not a requirement, but it’s a necessary economic driver,” he said.

“There is a section in this master plan — an economic impact — it’s got total jobs of 300-plus on the airport and the economic impact into our catchment area is $200 million a year. So that’s a substantial number.”

Timmins Mayor Michelle Boileau said this has been a long-awaited plan.

“There’s some, I think, great recommendations in the sense that this is a very, you know, positive, positive plan,” Boileau said.

“It’s projecting growth, not only for the airport but for Timmins and I think that’s something that we all look forward to.”

The airport doesn’t receive funding from the city. Dayment said anything it purchases is paid for from operating revenues.

“Tenants here pay to rent for counter space,” he said.

“We have car rental counters that they rent space. (We) rent space for the restaurant, we have landing fees for commercial aircraft and then we have a passenger facility fee for people that use the building.”

Dayment said the airport master plan makes a case for a capital investment of $120 million from all levels of government for the next 20 years. Highlights for this year include expanding the boarding lounge and façade improvements.

Some passengers who spoke with CTV News said they look forward to any improvements, adding the sitting areas could use some sprucing up with larger televisions and they would appreciate more polite screening staff.