There were 74 flight cancellations at the West Kootenay Regional Airport in 2024, resulting in an 80 per cent reliability rating for the entire year.
The airport schedules one flight a day 365 days a year. In 2024, 291 flights were successfully completed.
Airport Manager Maciej Habrych largely credits this year’s rating to the success of Air Canada’s Flight Disruption Shuttle, which transports passengers to Kelowna if their flight is cancelled at WKRA.
“This is the first true, full year where we had the passenger disruption bus as a fallback. If we take that into consideration, out of the 74 cancellations, the bus operated 65 times, resulting in nine actual flight cancellations throughout the year,” said Habrych during the January 13 Castlegar City Council meeting.
The airport’s same-day reliability rating came in at 98 per cent, an eight per cent increase from 2023’s rating of 90 per cent.
The number of passengers who boarded and disembarked at the airport in 2024 was 28,837, which is only about a 100-person difference from the previous year.
“I would say we’re flatlined. And that’s a little bit surprising given the inflation and cost-of-living increases over the year, which is actually quite good to see—it hasn’t lowered.”
A total of 3,246 people utilized the Air Canada Flight Disruption Shuttle service, representing about 11 per cent, or one in every ten passengers annually.
Habrych says the shuttle has been an asset and a great step forward for the region.
“The shuttle is a great regional step forward. It is one of the many little projects we’re working on to build the airport’s goodwill within the community. It is successful and it is moving people same day.”
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