Goal Is To Educate Citizens About The Risks Of Selling Canada's Airports

Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver international airports have unveiled a new website that highlights the risks of selling Canadian airports to private investors.

As the federal government contemplates a potential sale of major Canadian airports, the website educates Canadians about the negative impact a sale of airports would have on travellers and local communities. Selling Canada's airports to private, for-profit investors would increase travel costs for passengers, remove local voices from airport boards, and undermine Canada's economic competitiveness.

Canada's airports are a success story. In the 1990s, the country's major airports were privatized by the federal government and transferred to not-for-profit airport authorities with a mandate to advance economic growth and promote development in the communities in which they operate. Today, Canada's major airports do not receive any funding from the federal government. Canada's major airports pay over $1 billion a year in rents and other fees to the federal government.

"Canada is recognized as having the best aviation infrastructure and most efficiently-run airports in the world, and we are immensely proud of that," said Craig Richmond, President & CEO, Vancouver Airport Authority. "Our success is due in part to the community-based, not-for-profit governance model for our airports. The current model works – for passengers and for the communities we serve."

The federal government is exploring options around a potential sale of Canada's major airports, turning them into for-profit enterprises run by private investors.

"It's important that Canadians understand how airports have flourished under the current model," said Mark Laroche, President and CEO of the Ottawa International Airport Authority. "Our passengers benefit from world-class facilities, prudent management and world-renowned customer service, and our communities benefit from significant economic impact. It's in our collective best interest to ensure that our airports can continue to succeed."

"Airport authorities re-invest every penny earned back into our airports and that investment has created some of the best airport facilities in the world, but we're more than a business that builds runways and terminals. We are closely connected to our community, working with our partners to develop strategies that drive the economy of our cities and regions," said Bob Sartor, President and CEO of The Calgary Airport Authority. "We are launching this campaign to educate Canadians about the impacts to travellers and local communities if the federal government proceeds with selling the country's airports."

(Source: Canadian Airports Partnership news release)

FMI: http://noairportselloff.ca