 April 27, 2016 The final day of the Airport’s Conference began with a...)
Post by Candace McKibbon, Executive Director – B.C. Aviation Council (BCAC)
April 27, 2016
The final day of the Airport’s Conference began with a keynote address from the B.C. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Honourable Todd Stone about the B.C. on the Move plan. Minister Stone outlined the importance for continued investment in airports such as infrastructure improvements, lighting upgrades, and even development of the Transit without Visa (TWOV) program and establishing better VISA requirements for travellers. Minister Stone realizes that airports are critical to B.C. economic opportunities and connecting people with jobs and families.
Minister Todd Stone– Photo courtesy of Nanaimo Bulletin
The first session of the day was Quality Assurance for Airport Operations with Carl Abdallah, SNC-Lavalin and Justin Miller, Transport Canada. The final session of the conference was The pros approach to planning – current and future trends and opportunities in master planning and terminal design, hosted by Stanis Smith and Warren Thompson from Stantec.
CEO of WestJet Encore, Ferio Pugliese, gave delegates a farewell keynote address over lunch to wrap up the 2016 Airport’s Conference. Ferio spoke about the importance of airports to airlines, and in particular WestJet. WestJet Encore a subsidiary of WestJet Airlines and provides regional service with their Q400 fleet.
WestJet has doubled their flights in B.C. since 2005, and Encore has grown their fleet from two Q400s when it started in 2013 to a fleet of now 29 Q400s with an order for more. Ferio is very passionate about service to small communities, and believes that it should be a right for everyone in small communities to have access to affordable flights.
WestJet Encore CEO Ferio Pugliese Keynote Address
Thank you to the Nanaimo Airport for hosting such an excellent conference, to the event sponsors and speakers, and to all BCAC members and everyone who attended the event. We hope to see you next year in Cranbrook!
