Low loonie means Canadians are changing travel plans: airports

(Simon Druker)  The low loonie has many Canadians changing or scaling back travel plans.

The impacts are being felt across the border with Bellingham International Airport seeing a big drop in the number of passengers.

It’s not a blip on the radar explains Mike Hogan with the Port of Bellingham. “So we’ve seen about a 16 per cent decline in passenger traffic out of Bellingham International Airport. There’s definitely a direct relationship between the decline in the Canadian dollar and the number of passengers.”

He adds the airport is taking a long-term view, reducing operating expenses in its quest to continue to operate as a low-cost destination.

YVR‘s Anne Murray says it saw an increase. “We saw more international passengers, more passengers traveling to the US and more passengers flying within Canada.”

Hogan says Allegiant and Alaska Airlines are both offering very low flights rights right now to entice customers.

Meanwhile, YVR saw a five-percent increase in passengers last year.