Saskatoon airport still operating amid travel restrictions

These are difficult times for the Saskatoon airport.

It’s been over three weeks since the federal government began funneling major international flights into only four major airports as a method of preventing COVID-19.

While Skyxe is still operational, its flight volumes have gone down significantly.

CEO Stephen Maybury told CKOM’s Brent Loucks, passengers on board have gone down 95 per cent. They’ve also gone down from averaging 30 flights leaving per day to just 4.

“At this point, we’re in pure crisis management mode… two of our biggest drivers are passengers and seats,” he explained.

“There’s been some unprecedented impacts here at the airport.”

However,  no employees have been laid off.

One international flight does come into Saskatoon. Maybury estimated a Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis comes in three to four times a week.

He’s confident in the COVID-19 screening process for passengers coming off that flight.

“Those procedures remain in place. All of our airport partners are very much in tune with the response to the pandemic and the processes that go along with that,” he said.

“We have an emergency response plan (that) has been in place for years for pandemics. That, of course, has been activated.”