FAQ

In 1995 the citizens of Edmonton were asked to do two things:
1. allow the City Centre Airport to be leased to Edmonton Airports
2. allow Edmonton Airports to consolidate scheduled service at the Edmonton International
 

1. The city of Edmonton promised the citizens that the City Centre Airport would be kept open and operated as a general aviation airport
2. At no time did the City or Edmoton Airports imply that the airport would be closed.
3. They both committed to continue to operate the airport as an airport.
 

 Certainly not. There is still an active aviation community comprised of Medivac services, corporate charter, flight training and aviation service industries opearating at City Centre.

 Not necessarily. One of the big issues that hasn't been honestly addressed is the cost associated with closing the airport. One example is the relocation of Medevac services to the International. These costs will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars and the City of Edmonton flippantly says that those costs are a Provincial concern so they don't have to worry about it. The Province has thus far refused to address this issue publicly.

 No. First of all, the neighbourhood development will not attract new residents to Edmonton. It will simply locate people who would otherwise live in another neighbourhood in this new neighbourhood. There would be no net gain of taxes. 

Destroying the Airport meanwhile, will erase approximately 900 jobs from Edmonton's economy. These are long term, highly skilled jobs - the kind other, more progressive cities, strive for. And they are jobs with incredibly stable companies. Many of the Airport businesses have been operating for well over 35 years. The salaries and spinoff jobs along with the resulting Federal, Provincial and City taxes will never be replaced.  

 Unforutnately, no. The City Centre location is unique due to, as the name implies, its central location. This makes it perfect for charter companies that want to capitalize on efficient, effective service to the business community in Edmonton. For connections within Alberta, which is the market these companies serve, a remote airport with the additional time delays getting to and from, doesn't make sense. As well, flight training, which is post secondary education for many of our young people is accessible via public transit and rides from friends and relatives. As students, it's very difficult for them to go to rural airports. That's why Universities aren't located inthe country.

If City Centre closes, many of these businesses will close, as the rural location isn't an option. The ones that don't close, will more likely move to a different city with more favorable aviation amenities. Either way, the majority of the jobs will be gone from Edmonton.

No, it certainly doesn't. In fact the easy access for businesses with employees travelling to and from the downtown core was, prior to being restricted by Edmonton Aiprots, was a huge attraction for businesses to locate downtown. The following points provide a clear understanding of the issue.

• The runway approaches and the air navigation instrumentation to the City Centre Airport are protected from development that would encroach on these facilities. This is a natural and prudent protection that has been in place for a long time.
• With respect to the downtown area - the only areas that are really affected are west of 109 Street south of 104 Avenue and east of 97 Street south of 104 Avenue. Within the downtown area buildings up to 42 stories are permitted.
• Depending on where the building is located, additional height may be permitted.
• Commercial building development in downtown is limited by many factors. The City Centre Airport is probably the least significant limiting factor.
• Eliminating scheduled service from the City Centre Airport was probably more damaging to the demand for commercial space than any height limitations.
• Many businesses that had an incentive to locate downtown because of easy access to the Airport no longer wanted to be downtown and moved to other areas or, even worse, other cities.

 Well, that's simply not a fact. The Aiport makes money every year. Unfortunately not nearly what it could due to a number of reasons. With promotion and encouragement instead of restrictive policies, the Airport would flourish and be a real eceonmic boon to the city.

• The ability of the airport to operate at the most favorable level is controlled not by market opportunities but by the policies of Edmonton Airports.
• They limit who can use the airport and how. Passenger service of any kind is strictly regulated by where they can fly, how often, and how many passengers can be carried
• There is no other publicly licensed airport in Canada that is so tightly regulated.
• There is a market niche for the City Centre Airport that is different from the International, different from the airport’s past and different from its present restricted role.
• The City Centre Airport has many advantages to offer in connecting Edmonton to other regional centres in Alberta. In many cases the International is not competitive in serving these communities.
• If the City Centre Airport were to be able to compete for passenger and cargo traffic to these centres Edmonton would benefit.
• At one time Edmonton was not only the primary distribution centre for Alberta but also was the centre for all government services.
• What is needed is a sound strategy that recognizes market opportunities and aircraft type that are appropriate for scheduled passenger services. Let the market decide what Albertans and Edmontonians want.
• The simple recommendation is to designate the City Centre Airport as a “commuter airport” limited to airlines that are licensed to operate aircraft that are 19 passengers or less and allow them to operate on an unrestricted basis to any community in Alberta.