City of Cold Lake officials are saying they’re one step closer to commercial air service at 4 Wing. The province has greenlighted about $1 million from the revamped ID-349 agreement for the city to build an airport building at the Medley terminal. Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland says it was a no-brainer when the opportunity came up for funding.
“The ministry wanted to know where people would be spending the money. For us, we’re dedicating it to commercial air service to Cold Lake and to the area.”
The ability for a potential airport to have the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority service was a large hurdle in the process. Copeland says it’s since been taken care of and now a few agreements have to be ironed out. One is finding an airline that would come to Cold Lake.
“We need to do an agreement with 4 Wing and the federal government about utilizing the runway. We’re just working on that and hoping to have that deal done very soon. Then it’s just going out and hoping to find a carrier.”
Copeland says a carrier could feasibly see 60,000 to 70,000 passengers a year in this area. He believes a healthy oil patch could help bolster those numbers.