Successful landing and takeoff rates at the West Kootenay Regional Airport were on the rise in 2019.
Reliability at the airport was over 94 per cent for all of the non-winter months during 2019, with four of those months reaching 98 per cent.
The four winter months ranged from 65 to 80 per cent.
The yearly average for successful landing and takeoff rates for 2019 was 89 per cent. The previous three years ranged from 82 to 84 per cent.
Airport manager Patrick Gauvreau mentioned in his report to Castlegar city council last week that the annual statistics include all flight cancellations, including those due to maintenance or staffing issues.
He also pointed out that reliability rates at the Trail Regional Airport were only slightly higher than Castlegar in 2019, with the exception of January when there were a number of mechanical cancellations in Castlegar.
More than 81,000 passengers passed through the airport’s doors during the year, an increase of 7,000 over the previous three years. Traffic was 81,436 in 2019, compared to 74,717 in 2018, 74,071 in 2017, and 74,621 in 2016.
Eleven Pacific Coastal flights slated for either take-off or departure from Trail in 2019 used Castlegar instead. In 2018, 16 Pacific Coastal flights used Castlegar’s airport.
2019 success rates at West Kootenay
Regional Airport
Jan. — 65%
Feb. — 78%
March — 90%
April — 96%
May — 100%
June — 98%
July — 98%
Aug. — 98%
Sept. — 96%
Oct. — 94%
Nov. — 80%
Dec. — 68%
2019 success rates at Trail Regional Airport*
Jan. — 80%
Feb. — 82%
March — 96%
April — 97%
May — 98%
June — 100%
July — 97%
Aug. — 100%
Sept. — 96%
Oct. — 96%
Nov. — 83%
Dec. — 67%
*Trail rates according to flightaware.com