New air terminal for Fort McMurray

[W5]

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/ter ... story.html


EDMONTON — Fort McMurray’s small and crowded airport is being replaced by a $198-million air terminal building with eight gates and three passenger bridges, the authority announced late Friday.

The new complex, designed to handle 1.5 million passengers a year, will be on the south side of the main runway and could eventually include a customs area to handle

international flights. It should be open by April 2014.

“When the original airport was built, they had no idea that we would ever be this large,” said Scott Clements, chief executive of the Fort McMurray Airport Authority (FMAA). “The consequence is we have to start completely new on the other side.”

The original airport building will be maintained and could become a cargo centre. Existing private hangars will also stay, and an additional taxiway on the south side will open up space for new developments and hangars.

“Fort McMurray has grown so fast people don’t even realize how big we are,” said Clements, who estimates 1.2 million passengers will use the airport by 2030.

And a customs area is definitely in the future.

“This new complex is built for expansion. We’re 520 kilometres away from the nearest customs agent, and we are the 15th-busiest airport in Canada,” said Clements, who added even the 40th-busiest airport, in Cranbrook, B.C., has customs facilities.

Traci Bednard, vice-president of corporate communications for Edmonton International Airport, said the announcement is good news for northern Alberta.

“That’s their airport and that’s their community’s decision. In terms of competition, communities are very reliant on their airports and they can be significant economic generators,” she said.

“And when you think of the

resource activity happening there, it is not surprising they would want to invest in their infrastructure and plan long-term for the future.”

She said airports across Canada have been growing by leaps and bounds.

While Edmonton led the country for a couple of years, Alberta’s passenger numbers in general have grown significantly. When Ottawa turned over Canada’s airports to communities in 1999, they badly needed upgrading.

Fort McMurray will be charging outbound passengers $30 each, while Edmonton charges $20.

Bednard says airports are not for profit, and the challenge is always how to raise the money needed to expand and renovate the facilities.

At a ceremony late Friday, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo transferred the airport land and assets to the FMAA, allowing the authority to begin the development.

“Today’s announcement is a key milestone for improved air travel in and out of our region,” Mayor Melissa Blake said in a statement.

“With this memorandum of understanding signed, the airport authority can now start development on a new facility of appropriate size and capacity to welcome back residents and visitors from around the world.”

Authority chair Jeff Fitzner said, “in receiving this final transfer document, we are now well-prepared to pursue the bold vision established earlier this year for Fort McMurray to become the premier regional airport in Canada.”

Work on a financing and procurement strategy for the 14,000-square-metre structure will begin shortly.

dcooper@edmontonjournal.com

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal


Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/terminal ... z17quyJGX2

[gabo]

$30 per passenger, correct me if im wrong but dosen't Calgary and Toronto presently have the highest fees in Canada at $25. While i won't argue the fact that McMurray desperatly needs a new terminal and the cost of doing business up there is much higher than the rest of the country, $30 still seems fairly steep.

[oldtimer]

I am always amused by the media when they refer to the friggen air terminal building as the "airport". This is where airplanes "land", right? They just roll the sucker up to the gate and everyone gets off. Right?
The last time I was in YMM, the AIRPORT (as opposed to the ATB) still had only one runway that airplane could LAND on. If that has changed, then I stand corrected.
To spend $198M on a big phallic symbol ATB and leave the airport with one relativley inadequate runway seems to be a bit idiotic. What happens to an international flight (or any other flight for that matter) inbound to YMM with close to min fuel in clear weather and have a 'Ho or some other airplane do a gear up or some other mishap on the one and only runway. Do the regulators allow No Alternate IFR into an airport with only one runway? I think CYLW is in the same boat and I think not.
I would think part of the $30 fee would be better spent on another runway and another ILS and maybe some facilities that would allow 1/4 mile operations for those capable of such. IMHO.

[gabo]

A second runway would be a waste of money without improving the terminal. As it is now the lack of gates at the terminal is the airports biggest limiting factor. I think as it is the terminal can really only handle about 3 sched flights at a time and only a couple of charters (Im referring only to 705 planes only). Not to mention there are far to few check in counters and only 1 luggage carosel. As for a second ILS, definatly not needed, the number of days that the weather is down so low you need an ILS isnt very often, and its not like there is that much traffic going in there where a parallel runway would be worth it, I dont there is ny risk of flow control into mcmurray any time soon.

[Captain X]

I wonder if they plan on building the Terminal on the existing site? It seems to small to handle a larger building.

[gabo]

They said it would be built on the south side of the runway as well a new taxiway. There presently is nothing on the south side of the runway everything is to the north.

[Beefitarian]

Thank goodness, they could use the work up there. [/badhumour]

$30 per passenger, correct me if im wrong but dosen't Calgary and Toronto presently have the highest fees in Canada at $25. While i won't argue the fact that McMurray desperatly needs a new terminal and the cost of doing business up there is much higher than the rest of the country, $30 still seems fairly steep.

Well... last time I took a taxi from Borealis to the greyhound station it was well over $100. So you have to think $30 there is about equivalent to $2.86 anywhere else.

[Expat]

[Beefitarian]

Classic.

[Beefitarian]

Boo, fast edit. You should have left that one expat.

[ScudRunner]

Maybe those "FBO's" could spend a dollar to fix up their sorry excuses for ramps and lounges. I have seen pilot crash pads with better amenities in Thompson. All the money flowing around there its pretty sad site, this terminal is a step in the right direction and placing it on the south is perfect if they ever want to twin the runway. Didn't the old plan just call for a parallel runway that would have been too close for simultaneous landings and departures? hopefully now they will have the smarts to build it a little further south to accommodate that kind of operation and free up more land for new FBO's to support larger aircraft or at least more.

[Captain X]

There is enough jet fuel and filth soaked into the chairs at borealis that all it would take is one match!

[airway]

Bednard says airports are not for profit, and the challenge is always how to raise the money needed to expand and renovate the facilities.

How much of a challenge is it to increase the AIF to whatever you want?