Edmonton International Airport Has Strong 2016 Led by Cargo and Commercial Investment

Jan. 23, 2017

Edmonton International Airport (EIA) is a major regional economic driver, creating 12,600 annual direct and indirect jobs and generating nearly $1.2 billion in GDP with a total economic output of over $2.2 billion. In 2016, EIA experienced a busy year, not only serving 7,523,864 passengers, but also moving forward with many impressive cargo, commercial development and infrastructure projects that will benefit our local and regional economy. 

“At EIA we understand the importance of continuing to diversify our business offerings, which is why the commercial developments in 2016 are all designed to sustain long-term growth for the Edmonton Metro Region. We attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment last year in many different lines of business,” says Tom Ruth, EIA president and CEO. “Although US, sun destination and charter traffic showed declines, our domestic and transatlantic-international traffic remained robust as travellers continued to support our non-stop flights and connecting flights though Edmonton, all of which will enable us to drive regional business growth.”

Passenger Statistics

Challenged by a lower Canadian dollar, US travel declined by 25.4 percent. There was also a decrease of 29 percent in general and business aviation passengers, many of whom are mobile workers travelling to energy-based worksites. Despite challenging economic conditions, domestic travel remained relatively steady, growing by two per cent over the previous year. International travel was down by 9.8 percent, due mainly to decreased demand for sun destination service, but there was an 8.6 percent increase in the number of travellers using the transatlantic flights of Icelandair to Reykjavik, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Amsterdam and the new, seasonal WestJet service to London-Gatwick that began in May. Overall passenger counts came in at 5.7 percent below 2015’s numbers.

Air Service

EIA also welcomed new air services in 2016. WestJet began, seasonal, non-stop service to London-Gatwick in May. Icelandair added an additional summer flight to its year-round passenger and cargo service to Reykjavik. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines celebrated the one year anniversary of its non-stop passenger and cargo service to Amsterdam in May. We also welcomed NewLeaf Travel which began offering flights from Edmonton to Abbotsford, Kelowna, Winnipeg and Hamilton.

Ground Transportation

TappCar and EIA finalized an agreement allowing passengers who subscribe to TappCar service to seek transportation through their smartphone for drop-off and pick-up at the airport. EIA was the first major Canadian airport to license a private transportation provider of standard vehicle service (excluding limousines).

Cargo

EIA’s cargo services saw its seventh consecutive year of volume growth in 2016. It was a strong year for international cargo charters. Air China Cargo celebrated one year of service to and from EIA. This service flies between Shanghai Pudong Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Tianjin Binhai International Airport, two times a week. Edmonton’s Air China Cargo service is the only Canadian destination with scheduled freighter service to mainland China.

With cargo connections into Europe and Africa via Amsterdam, into Asia via Shanghai and the US via Chicago, EIA has transatlantic and transpacific routes and is a strong Canadian cargo hub option. This dovetails with EIA’s Port Alberta designation as a Foreign Trade Zone, allowing companies to reduce or eliminate normal trade barriers such as tariffs, quotas and compliance costs. Building on EIA’s cargo capacity, over 250,000 square feet of new cargo facilities were completed or announced in 2016.

Rosenau Transport Ltd. took possession of its 211,000-square-foot facility in September, offering road connections to and from anywhere in Western Canada within 24 hours of EIA. Rosenau has recently achieved full air cargo road carrier certification from Transport Canada and is ideally situated to meet all cargo needs with national and international connectivity via EIA’s extensive air cargo network.

Flying Fresh Air Freight, is a perishables and specialty freight forwarder, and the newest member of the EIA Cargo community. Its new Edmonton office is located in the EIA Cargo Village.

Det’on Cho Logistics opened its new cargo warehouse location at EIA, which will complement its Yellowknife and Vancouver operations. Det’on Cho Logistics provides a suite of services including warehousing, air cargo handling, supply chain management, air charter services and much more.

Aeroterm began construction of its new $10 million dollar (US) multi-use airport facility, located at EIA, including 50,000 square feet (4,650 square metres) of airside flight kitchen and air cargo support facilities. Tenants in this new facility include Gate Gourmet, ATS and Swissport. The facility is 100 per cent pre-leased. The facility is scheduled for completion in early 2017.

Commercial Development

Commercial development at EIA supports air service by attracting new passengers and services, and by providing revenue that is reinvested into the airport. With major private investment in EIA, 2016 was a strong development year. Key development highlights include the completion of the Rosenau Transport Ltd. 211,000 square foot warehouse and shipping facility and the start of construction of the 585,000-square-foot Premium Outlet Collection –EIA. The terminal building also saw the opening of the first ever No.99 Gretzky’s Wine and Whisky restaurant in an airport and the opening of the very first Edmonton Eskimos Sports Bar. HNZ Topflight began training pilots in a state-of-the-art helicopter flight simulation training device at EIA’s terminal, which is the first of its kind in in North America, where pilots will receive credit for in-aircraft hours as part of an approved training program.

Construction is underway on the new, 25,000-square-foot freight forwarder building for Runway Developments. The facility is for mixed-use cargo, with leasing opportunities available for customs brokers, logistics companies and freight forwarders. The building will be ready for occupancy summer 2017.

Aurora Cannabis began construction of an 800,000-square-foot facility at EIA, which will be the world’s largest and most advanced medical cannabis production facility.

Horseracing Alberta announced Century Casinos Inc. has been selected to develop a new mile-long race track, including food and entertainment facilities with slot machines. The proposed site is on EIA lands within the Aerotropolis Development.

Community

EIA is very proud of its involvement with the Edmonton region community in everything from sponsoring the children’s tent at Servus Heritage Festival to the live music program at EIA.

EIA is also very grateful for the generosity of the surrounding communities and partner businesses who supported the Sixth Annual EIA Charity Golf Classic, which raised $175,000 for Youth Empowerment and Support Service (www.yess.org), Riseup Society Alberta (www.riseupsociety.ca) and the Leduc and District Food Bank (www.ldfb.ca). This is the sixth year that EIA has held its Annual Charity Golf Classic, raising a combined total of $795,000.

The Edmonton Airshow, held at Villeneuve Airport on August 6 & 7, saw nearly 25,000 people attend the two day spectacle. The event will be held again in 2017 at the same location on August 19 & 20 and will feature the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds.

EIA celebrated two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold Certifications for the Central Tower and Terminal Expansion. The awards demonstrate EIA’s commitment to being environmentally and socially responsible.