'This is a lifeline': London International Airport to receive $4.5M grant
The federal government has announced a $4.5 million grant to the London International Airport.
They will be used for, “anything from helping with property taxes, to utilities, to other costs that have added up through the pandemic” said Peter Fragiskatos, MP for London North Centre, who made the announcement Tuesday morning.
It’s a part of $206 million fund from the federal government, introduced earlier this spring, meant to support regional airports as they look to recover from the financial instability COVID-19 has brought on.
“This is a lifeline that’s going to help the airport regroup,” said Michael Seabrook, president and CEO of the London International Airport.
Seabrook adds the airport typically generates about $14-million in revenue which was reduced to just over $3 million last year, creating a huge deficit for the airport when factoring in expenses.
“We have everything from utilities to maintenance to municipal property tax to salary and wages, these are all things we’ve needed to maintain so the funds are going to help us with all of those areas,” said Seabrook.
It comes as the airport slowly starts to add more flights back to its schedule.
Seabrook explains the airport has gone from running four flights a day in July to six in August, and hopes to continue to steadily increase its number of flights throughout the fall.
The funding from the government will come in stages and Seabrook is hoping to receive that first installment of the funding will arrive within the next couple of months.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Record-breaking N.B. lottery winner kept winning ticket on dresser for nearly a year
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Gangs netting up to US$3 trillion a year as Southeast Asia human trafficking becomes a global crisis, Interpol says
Human trafficking-fuelled fraud is exploding in Southeast Asia with organized crime rings raking in close to US$3 trillion in illicit revenue annually, the head of Interpol has said in comments that reveal the huge profits being earned by cartels.