Victoria International Airport has welcomed a record-breaking volume of passengers throughout the first six months of 2016, according to statistics published by the Victoria Airport Authority.

Between January and June of this year a total of 859,661 passengers passed through the gates of British Columbia’s second busiest airport representing a rise of 5.4% over the same period last year.

Victoria Airport Authority’s Vice-President of Operations and Development, James Bogusz, attributes passenger growth to Calgary-based WestJet Airline’s introduction of its Encore subsidiary, an expansion of Richmond-based Pacific Coastal Airline’s route network and an overall rise in domestic travel to and from the capital region.

“The growth has been primarily related to domestic passengers with Westjet Encore playing a big part in that with service from Victoria to Vancouver. There is also just a general strength in existing domestic routes and it always helps when airlines like Pacific Coastal are offering service to new markets such as Kelowna and Prince George,” Bogusz said.

In 2015 the airport saw its highest volume of passengers — ever — with a total of just over 1.7 million, or approximately 3.6% higher than 2014’s then record-breaking 1,656,000 passengers. And provided growth remains relatively stable by year’s end, Victoria International could see yet another record year with upwards of 1.8 million passengers by the end of December.

As passenger volumes inch ever higher to a two million threshold the airport authority has embarked on a multi-year infrastructure expansion plan that includes a larger parking area for commercial aircraft, additional gates and jet bridges, and within several years a terminal building expansion for post-security departing passengers.

Talk of extending the airport's longest runway by approximately 1,500 feet to a total length of 8,500 feet is also planned, although it may not materialize until 2025. With a longer runway length direct flights to Europe would be a possibility and domestic airlines could opt for larger aircraft to service popular domestic and trans-border destinations out of Victoria.

Earlier this year Delta Airlines returned to Victoria with a direct service to Seattle three times per day using Canadair regional jets. And last week Canada's latest ultra low-cost start-up NewLeaf, based out of Winnipeg, began offering limited frequency flights out of Victoria to Kamloops and Winnipeg with the use of a Boeing 737.

Bogusz confirms efforts to secure additional non-stop routes are on-going, with a service to Los Angeles a top priority. C

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