ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — As officials look for ways to lower soaring flight costs for people in Labrador, one airport executive hopes a massive new energy deal with Quebec will help out.
The northern region is served by PAL Airlines and its partner, Air Borealis, and Rex Goudie of the Goose Bay Airport Corporation says an increased need for more rotational workers could attract a competing carrier.
Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador signed a tentative agreement earlier this month to build new hydroelectric facilities along the Churchill River that promise thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue.
Goudie says he and his team are studying the market opportunities available to interested airline companies, while ensuring the region’s existing relationship with PAL is preserved.
In the meantime, Labrador Affairs Minister Lisa Dempster says she met with Canada’s business watchdog — the Competition Bureau — in October about flight costs in the region.
An October report commissioned by the Goose Bay Airport Corporation found that flight costs in Labrador increased by 33 per cent since 2019, compared with just nine per cent across Canada.
A return flight from Nain, in northern Labrador, to the provincial capital of St. John’s is nearly $2,500.
“I don’t think there’s any one solution,” Goudie said in an interview.
“We believe that there’s a role for government,” he added. “Particularly for northern regions, like here in Labrador, which is so remote, is that air travel is not a luxury, it’s an essential service. And so one would think there would be programs or policies put in place that would reflect that.”
The Competition Bureau said in May it was launching a market study on the state of competition in Canada’s airline industry; a final report is expected by June 30, 2025. Dempster and Goudie also provided submissions to the federal standing committee on transport, infrastructure and communities about air travel in Labrador.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 31, 2024.
The Canadian Press