Flair Airlines flights taking off from the Lethbridge Airport have once again been delayed. On Friday morning, the City of Lethbridge and the airline announced that flights from the YQL airport to Tucson, Arizona, would not start this year as planned.
Director of Corporate Services Jason Elliott says while the city, along with the community and region, are disappointed in the decision for Flair to not move forward with the flight route, city administration looks forward to continuing conversations with the airline in the future.
“From the city perspective, we felt we were in a position to be able to be ready and move things forward,” Elliot says. “Generally, the Lethbridge Airport is a little undersized for [Boeing] 737s, to be honest, and so one of our main objectives from a development point of view is expansion of the terminal to accommodate large numbers of passengers, but equally important to land a fully loaded and fueled 737 we need a runway expansion.”
To date, several projects have been completed to expand the airport, including expanding the processing area for the Canadian Border Services Agency, adding a new baggage drop-off and screening area, and procuring a boarding ramp and tow tractor, which the Corporate Services Manage is not here yet but is an essential piece of equipment to allow the airport to accept Boeing 737s. Elliot adds work is being done at the city council and provincial levels to advocate for the expansion while looking into possible funding, including grants.
“We have plenty of space for runway expansion and terminal expansion, for that matter, in addition to additional commercial opportunity expansion.”
In a statement, Vice President of Revenue Management and Network Planning with Flair Airlines Eric Tanner says the airline is committed to discussions with the city about future service.
“We look forward to tracking the Airport’s continued improvement and, to one day, providing affordable air service to Lethbridge,” Tanner says.
However, when asked, Elliot could not give a timeline on when this could happen.
“I think it would be inappropriate to speculate at this point, and I think if we have learned anything, it is probably let’s not draw a line in the sand – let’s make sure that when we are ready, it is something everybody is able to commit to and move forward.”
This is the second time the budget airline has shelved the Lethbridge to Tucson route; in November 2022, Flair announced they would push take-off from Lethbridge until 2023, when equipment needed for the larger Boeing 737s was secured. At the time of the delay, Chief Commercial Officer for Flair, Garth Lund, said it wasn’t a demand issue and hoped the delay would be short-lived.