The CEO of Thunder Bay International Airport believes there is room to grow the airport's popularity among U.S. travellers wanting to fly overseas.
Airport officials had already been noticing an increase in the number of Minnesota license plates in the parking lot.
It's one of the reasons that Ed Schmidtke gives for 2016 being the biggest year for passenger volume in the airport's history.
"We've seen the growth of U.S. travellers deciding that Thunder Bay is their best gateway, not just to Canada but to Europe as well," Schmidtke said.
American travellers have been drawn north by fares to foreign destinations that can be 500 dollars less than what they would pay if they flew out of a U.S. airport.
The strength of the American dollar against the Canadian dollar, and attractive fares resulting from strong competition among three airlines on the Thunder Bay-Toronto route, are two factors contributing to the price differential.
Schmidtke said "We're going to market into the U.S. in the New Year to try to grow that demand."
He said Thunder Bay Airport will start the new year with record capacity, with more airplane seats available in 2017 than has ever been the case in the past.
