Passenger growth

The Thunder Bay International Airport was a busy place in August.

The transportation hub for Northwestern Ontario serviced 72,932 passengers last month, an 8.7 per cent increase over August 2011, a number Thunder Bay International Airports Authority CEO Scott McFadden is a result of a burgeoning local and regional economy.

“Certainly in August some of the traffic is leisure and recreational,” McFadden said Monday morning. “But obviously the key economic centres in Thunder Bay, in mining and resources, manufacturing and health sciences continue to drive demand for air travel.”

McFadden, who said air travel traffic is up overall in 2012, is hopeful it’s a trend that will continue into the winter, especially with the February 2013 addition of a daily service on United Airlines between Thunder Bay and Chicago.

“I never expect things to continue, but certainly in our forecast we’re hoping to see continued growth and finish the year beyond 750,000 passengers,” McFadden said.

“I was just saying sometimes I need to cross my fingers when I talk about it because it hasn’t always been the case, with the airport in the community, to have this sort of sustained growth. This is the third record August in a row, so it’s good news.”