Community Gets First Glimpse of Desired Future of Brandon's Municipal Airport Terminal

Brandon, MB – The City of Brandon has unveiled its vision of a hustling, bustling airport terminal, complete with regional air service.

At a breakfast reception attended by a number of community partners and southwestern Manitoba municipalities at the Brandon Municipal Airport, Brandon Mayor Shari Decter Hirst this morning unveiled conceptual plans for an approximately $1.5-million revision of the airport’s Terminal Building. Such upgrades would be necessary to secure a regional air service such as WestJet, which the City is actively lobbying to attract.

“Just imagine, arriving at the Brandon Municipal Airport and walking into a bright, inviting terminal, humming with travellers and airline staff,” Decter Hirst said. “The City of Brandon will work as hard as it can to make that vision a reality, as long as we are able to convince WestJet or a similar airline company that it belongs in Brandon.”

Original construction of the 5,800-square foot terminal building dates back approximately 40 years, with limited enhancements undertaken since then. To facilitate regional passenger air service, a rehabilitation of the airport’s terminal is a must, says Tim Sanderson, the City’s Director of Transportation Services.

“As a result of changing air travel standards, the current layout of the terminal could not accommodate mid-to-large passenger movements,” Sanderson said. “If we want our city to grow to the level of being able to support regional air service, our airport terminal needs to grow as well.”

Sanderson added that because the building’s envelope would not need to be substantially altered, the proposed work could be completed in a short time period. In addition to funding from the City’s capital budget, provincial and federal funding would be sought for the upgrades.

Highlights of the proposed revisions include:

• Installation of a baggage carrousel and revised arrivals hall;
• Relocation of the secure passenger hold area (with washroom facilities) and security queue areas;
• Construction of new, updated ticketing counters;
• Update of surfaces, furniture, lighting and mechanical systems

Potential retail spaces, such as a rental car counter, retail kiosk or vending expansions, could also be identified as part of a terminal upgrade.

“A vibrant region like western Manitoba deserves a vibrant regional airport,” Decter Hirst said. “We need the entire region to see the future of the airport as we do if we are going to turn that dream into a reality.”

Decter Hirst also urged guests in attendance at the breakfast to complete the air travel preference survey recently launched by the City of Brandon, which can be found at www.brandon.ca/air-travel-survey. The survey will help determine the air travel patterns of the area, which the City will use to further build its business case for WestJet service.

More information about the Brandon Municipal Airport can be found at http://airport.brandon.ca/.

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