Travellers will fork out an extra $5 to depart from Edmonton International Airport to help pay for a new round of renovations.
The Edmonton Regional Airports Authority recently approved the start of design plans for Phase Four renovations to the original North Terminal building, which was built in 1963 and is home to Calgary-based WestJet Airlines.
To fund the expansion and future renovation efforts, the airport improvement fee (AIF) for departing passengers will be increased to $15 from $10 as of July 1.
Last year, the airport led the nation in passenger growth with a 2.5-per-cent increase over the year before and a leap of 162 per cent since 1994, the airport authority said.
Total passenger traffic in Edmonton (including the municipal airport) has leapt 60 per cent since 1994.
WestJet traffic alone through Edmonton International grew 36 per cent in 2001 over the previous year.
“This facility expansion is required to meet the significant demands of growing passenger numbers at our airport,” Edmonton Airports president and CEO Scott Clements said in a statement.
The increased passenger fee will enable the airport to maintain a continuous construction schedule.
The Phase Two expansion of the South Terminal was completed in December 2000 and a Phase Three revitalization of the Central Hall is under way.
The Phase Four project will include renovations and expansion of the North Terminal including aircraft bridges, baggage facilities, airline ticket counters and food, beverage and retail outlets.
Phase Five, which has not yet been approved, is a three-level addition to the airport parkade.
Since being established in 1997, the AIF has collected $67 million to fund the air terminal redevelopment project.
