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Since the spring and the onset of the pandemic, traffic through the Kelowna International Airport is down a dizzying 95 percent. And despite the arrival of an approved vaccine, Airport Director Sam Samaddar doesn't expect a fast recovery.
But he does have a suggestion that he believes would make a positive impact.
Samaddar said pre-boarding COVID tests should be made mandatory from coast to coast.
There are no line-ups at the Airport on a Thursday afternoon. That's no surprise, especially since the facility is seeing about five percent of the traffic that would normally be coming and going.
And Director Sam Samaddar said airport officials are not very optimistic about a big recovery in 2021. "We're not because it's going to take time for the vaccines to get into the population," he said.
"And of course it's convincing people to get into that."
Samaddar said it's not just about keeping the travelling public safe. "It's also about consumer confidence," he said. And he believes he has just the right idea to help with that.
He wants to see Transport Canada make pre-boarding COVID-19 tests mandatory for all commercial flights.
"That makes sure that everybody that's boarding the flight is negative on COVID," he explained, "but also for international visitors coming in."
He believes the measure would also allow the 14-day quarantine restriction to be lifted.
Samaddar said other airports are also onboard with the idea. "We've been lobbying very adamantly at the federal level," he said.
"In fact, a lot of airports have introduced testing with private labs at their airports to prove that this can work."
And it's not just Transport Canada that's been hearing about it. "We've been pursuing the Public Health Agency of Canada and we're pursuing Transport Canada," he said.
"And we believe this would be a perfect solution to allow us to get people back in the air again."
As for the people who rely on the airport for their livelihoods, Samaddar said it's been difficult. "It's been very, very sad," he said.
There are about 1600 people who typically work at Kelowna International Airport. That number has been cut roughly in half.
"And some of these people are long-tenured employees that have lost their jobs," added Sammadar.
KelownaNow has reached out to Transport Canada for its position on the suggestion of COVID-19 tests prior to boarding commercial flights.
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