Kelowna International Airport is preparing for what it predicts will be a record-breaking holiday travel season.
“December will be a peak month in the history of the airport,” said airport CEO Sam Samaddar.
The airport is expecting roughly 220,000 passengers in December alone, which is about 40,000 more than last year.
The unprecedented numbers are being attributed to an increase in the frequency of flights and bigger aircraft coming in and out of Kelowna.
“We are seeing more seats,” Samaddar said. “You have bigger airplanes, we have more seats.”
According to YLW, Dec. 18 to Jan. 6 will be the busiest days of the season.
The busy Christmas season comes as the airport undergoes construction to double the size of the departures lounge and gets ready to start building an on-site hotel and a much-needed parkade.
Once complete, the new parkade is expected to increase parking capacity by 40 per cent.
Speaking to media on Thursday, Samaddar said travellers should expect longer-than-normal wait times during the unprecedented travel season.
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He added the airport is prepared for the big spike in passengers.
“We bring in extra staff for peak periods,” Samaddar said. “From our team’s perspective, the direct airport’s team perspective, we have all hands on deck here and of course, we’re helping our partners to transit passengers to where they are going.”
However, airport officials are also urging the public to do its part by planning accordingly.
That includes checking in online if possible and arriving early in advance of flights.
With a record number of holiday travellers expected this month, the airport is also warning that it expects to reach parking capacity.
It’s advising people to make alternate plans to get to the airport or use its valet service by reserving a spot in advance.
“People are going to come to the airport not having planned in advance and all of a sudden are panicking because they can’t find a place to park their vehicle,” Samaddar said.
Samaddar also said the weather is the wildcard that could throw a wrench even into the best travel plan.
“Sometimes it’s not weather here, it could be weather elsewhere,” Samaddar said when talking about the impact weather elsewhere could have on Kelowna’s operations.
You can visit the Kelowna airport website for more information and travel tips.
The airport is also on track for a record-breaking 2024 with more than 2.1 million passengers shattering the record set pre-pandemic in 2018.
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