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Winnipeg Free Press
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
Following nearly a year of calls to save them from drastic losses, the federal government is at long last opening the door to around $740 million in capital investments for airports across Canada over the next six years.
Following nearly a year of calls to save them from drastic losses, the federal government is at long last opening the door to around $740 million in capital investments for airports across Canada over the next six years.
But the Winnipeg Airports Authority which has only revealed grim financial outlooks since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t sure how much of those dollars will be coming its way.
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After winning the 2019 federal election but losing every riding in Saskatchewan and Alberta, the Liberals appointed Carr who won his riding as its Prairie Envoy to try building inroads here.
Responding to a question about the pandemic’s impact on mid-market airports and how Ottawa helped with its 2021-22 budget, Carr told attendees, “you know there was significant rent relief offered to airports across the country, which was helpful. I know that more is requested, more is being looked at.”
According to Bogusz, the “more significant” financial help has been the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy; “we’ve used it throughout the pandemic … it didn’t necessarily preserve all the jobs we had to cut, but it definitely preserved a few, and it certainly preserved the expense line over here at the airport, a little over $1 million.”
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A severe decline in passenger volumes due to COVID-19 restrictions continues to wreak havoc on the Winnipeg Airports Authority.
A severe decline in passenger volumes due to COVID-19 restrictions continues to wreak havoc on the Winnipeg Airports Authority.
On Monday, the company released yet another dour outlook with its first-quarter earnings report for 2021. Revenue for Canada’s seventh-busiest airport is a shell of what it was only in early 2020, let alone previous years.
The airport authority’s consolidated revenue for the first quarter is $10.9 million, versus $31.3 million for the first quarter in 2020. Earnings before interest, depreciation and taxes have been flat this quarter, compared to $13.4 million during the same period the previous year.