VICTORIA – Victoria Airport Authority (VAA) announced today that it is investing $19.4 million dollars over the next 27 months to expand the lower passenger departure lounge.
The project includes doubling the size of the existing lower passenger departure lounge, providing dedicated aircraft gates and covered walkways, new washrooms, and additional food & beverage and retail.
Victoria International Airport (YYJ) saw another record year in 2017 with 1,934,832 passengers, up 4.2 per cent over 2016. In response to this strong passenger growth and the use of larger aircraft in existing markets, construction of the 1765 square metre addition to the lower passenger departure lounge was planned.
“The upsizing of aircraft from 30-50 seat Dash-8’s to 76-80 seat Q400’s combined with passenger growth has driven the need to expand our lower passenger departures lounge. The need to improve safety on the main aircraft apron and create efficiencies for passengers entering and exiting the passenger departure lounge, resulted in the airport recently completing an apron expansion that now accommodates the physical space required to expand the glass departure building north and eliminate the existing covered walkway,” explained VAA President and CEO Geoff Dickson.
“These improvements will not only improve overall safety and operations but will also enhance the airport experience for our customers by providing additional seating, new accessibility considerations and enhanced concessions,” he added.
The airport will attempt to minimize inconvenience during construction, however travellers will notice hoarding walls, temporary pathways to and from aircraft, and regular construction activities.
McFarlane Biggar Architects in Vancouver was selected to lead the design team and Victoria based Durwest Construction Management (DCM) will manage the project.
An economic impact study to measure the economic contribution associated with the ongoing activities of Victoria International Airport was recently completed. It showed the total economic output to be $880 million and reinforced the importance of a vibrant and growing airport to the region. It is projects of this nature that help facilitate growth at the airport and benefit the region as a whole.
Since transferring to a local airport authority on April 1, 1997, VAA has invested $175 million into the airport and is debt-free.
