LONDON, ONT. -- It’s been another record-setting year for London International Airport with more travellers than ever before taking off from the Forest City.
For a second straight year, the airport has seen a jump in the number of passengers passing through its front doors. The CEO of the airport, Mike Seabrook, says London could see just under 700,000 passengers this year, compared to 540,000 passengers last year. “That’s about a 25-per-cent increase. In the airport world, that’s significant.”
And Seabrook says the growth is sustainable.
“Two years ago, we had 530,000 passengers. In 2020, I think we could get over a million.”
A couple of years ago, London branded itself as “the easy and comfortable airport” and Seabrook believes London is being recognized for that.
“I think that we are getting recognized by travellers,” he said. “They like using the airport. They find it easy and comfortable to use … That’s our brand. We are delivering on it.”
A London resident who has flown from the airport four times says it’s “easy to use.”
“The parking is reasonable and close to the building,” she said. “There is easy access to the terminals after check-in. It’s great.”
WHAT’S BEHIND THE GROWTH?
Seabrook credits the steady growth at London airport to a number of factors, including the introduction this year of Canada’s ultra-low cost airline, Swoop.
Swoop began servicing flights from London in May, offering Southern Ontario residents direct travel to Abbotsford, Edmonton, and Halifax. Swoop will continue flights to Edmonton and Abbotsford this winter, with additional flights to Las Vegas, Orlando, and Cancun. And today, the company announced plans to launch daily, non-stop flights in April 2020 to Winnipeg, marking the seventh destination offered by Swoop from London International Airport.
“We are glad to see Swoop succeed in London and we hope passengers continue to take advantage of Swoop’s ultra-low cost fares,” said Seabrook.
The two other major carriers, West jet and Air Canada, also added new flights this year.
This winter, Seabrook says the airport is offering more southern destinations than ever before, including 13 flights a week to locations including Florida, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Mexico.
The increased traffic has meant the addition of several hundred new jobs at the airport and Seabrook says “the potential for many more” as growth continues. “From an economic point of view, the number of people that have been hired at this airport, in various capacities, has been remarkable. I see new people every day.”
Seabrook says cities like Toronto and Detroit continue to be the real catalyst for London’s growth.
Seabrook says Toronto’s airports grow each year by 3 million to 5 million passengers. In another 20 years, he expects that number to reach over 100 million passengers annually. “They can’t handle that capacity.”
Seabrook says Toronto is limited by runways and infrastructure, and that’s why he believes there is a bright future for London.
The London airport is also far more convenient for local travellers – and less expensive.
“It’s … much less expensive than travelling to Toronto and paying for high parking costs, the cost of getting there, the time, the effort,” he said.
“And in bad weather, it’s a lot easier and a lot simpler … If you can arrive home from a tropical destination and drive 20 minutes to home, it’s so much nicer than driving down the 401 in the winter at midnight. It’s a big blessing for us.”
ACCOMODATING GROWTH
Seabrook expects the airport will be close to, or surpass, a million passengers in 2020. He says the airport can accommodate those numbers but efforts are still underway to get ahead of the growth.
The airport is working on a “terminal precinct plan” that will take a broad look at the terminal and its processes to determine the most efficient way to expand. “We are trying to make sure we are prepared for this,” said Seabrook. “When you get jumps of 20, 30, 50 per cent a year, it’s hard to plan for, but we are managing and we’ll be fine for next year. And if we can get this plan in place, we hope to see an expansion of the terminal building.”
This past year, the airport spent $12 million in capital funds to expand one of the major taxiways and a complete a massive upgrade to the baggage screening area, among other things. Seabrook says investment’s like these are critical to the future growth of the airport. “You have to have your infrastructure in good shape or you can’t attract the services you need to grow.”
Seabrook says other carriers are watching. “Businesses attract business. New airlines attract new services and before we know it, London could be a 3-, 4-, or 5-million-a-year passenger airport with services to a wide array of destinations. It would be great if that could happen.”
Seabrook says he is proud of the progression. Ten years ago, many of the flights out of London went through Toronto. There were limited direct flight destinations. But things have changed.
And what’s good for the airport, is also good for the city.
“The better the air service is, the easier it is to attract business. It goes hand in hand for sure.”
