Region working on master plan for airport

The Region of Waterloo is developing a Master Plan to help guide the future of the Region of Waterloo International Airport for the next 20 years.

The final report is expected to be presented to council by the end of the year.

The Master Plan will look at how to best meet the travel and connectivity needs of our growing area.

Airport General Manager, Chris Wood says new business at the airport can benefit our entire community.

“I was talking to the owner of a hotel that said, just by NextJet announcing [new flights], he’s getting business because their pilots need a place to stay, they’re going to need to eat, and they’re going to rent a car, or whatever, so those are the spin-offs that the airport creates.”

Wood says most people in our area are concerned about the noise-level an expansion could have on our community.

Siobhan Desroches with Greater Toronto Airports Authority says this conversation needs to happen, because they expect Toronto Pearson Airport will reach a capacity gap by mid-2030’s.

“What is their strengths? What are they able to bring to a regional airport system so we can really optimize a system within Southern Ontario so we are able to make a more efficient system; and manage the demand we’re expecting?”

Debouches says airports are vital to our communities.

“They’re such an important economic engine for the communities that they serve, Waterloo included, getting people and cargo moving.”

You can have your say online or attend the next public meeting scheduled this fall.

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