Passenger Numbers Reach Pre Recession Totals

Passenger numbers for 2011 are in and a milestone has been hit at the Prince George Airport. Last year 402,438 passengers went through YXS, an increase of 3.1% over 2010.

Marketing Manager Lindsay Cotter says “we haven’t hit the 400,000 mark since 2008 which was the start of the global economic crisis. Although there are still indications we are not fully out of the recession, the 2011 numbers are a great sign of economic recovery.”

Passenger numbers from the last few years:

2008 – 417,484
2009 – 376,030
2010 – 390,340
2011 – 402,438
President and CEO John Gibson says “we are starting to see growth in the North in areas such as mining, forestry and transportation, which means more jobs. Growth is expected to continue in 2012 with the opening of the Northern Cancer Agency this fall, which also brings with it more jobs.”

Much of the increase in 2011 came in the last four months of the year. November showed the highest increase in passenger numbers with a 14% increase from November 2010.