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“I am not going to candy-coat it, it’s been tough,”: YXS CEO on slashed revenue, passenger service

Prince George is one of 21 airport authorities in Canada that will see its ground lease rents waived until the end of the year.

Airport Authority CEO, Gordon Duke told MyPGNow.com the rent relief is a big help since YXS has seen a huge drop in revenue and passenger service due to COVID-19.

PG Airport Authority CEO Gordon Duke (Photo supplied by YXS)

“Going at full tilt with good passenger loads we normally pay around $25,000 a month and we’ve lost about 85% of our revenue starting in mid-March.”

Duke states all of the PG Airport’s partners are hurting right now, that includes rent-a-car services, the restaurant as well as the ground handling companies.

“I am not going to candy-coat it, it’s been tough but I am really proud of our team for staying on task and our first focus is always going to be safety and security and strong operations and our staff has done a really good job at that.”

Since the virus outbreak began, the local airport has had to make changes to its workflow in order to respect the physical distancing measures announced by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

“We’ve had to adjust our shift schedule and we have a significant number of our staff working from home, or staggering the time that they are in the office so that we can respect the social distancing.”

Duke admits this is a one-of-a-kind type of situation, something you can’t really fully prepare for.

“This has evolved at such a rapid rate and is unprecedented. We don’t have a contingency plan for this situation, we do have a pandemic plan, we’ve got contingency plans for a reduction in service, however, the loss of 85% of our revenue stream and passenger service is something you can’t really plan for.”

The measures announced by Ottawa this week are part of the federal government’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan.

Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].

Brendan Pawliw
Brendan Pawliw
Since moving to Prince George in 2015, Brendan has covered local sports including the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, Prince George Spruce Kings, UNBC Timberwolves, Cariboo Cougars AAA, and Northern Capitals U18 female hockey teams. Career highlights include play-by-play during the Spruce Kings' BCHL championship runs in 2018 and 2019, including the Doyle Cup win. He also covered the 2019 National Junior A Championship, the 2017 Telus Cup, the 2022 World Women’s Curling Championship, and the 2022 BC Summer Games. Brendan is the news voice on 94.3 The Goat and Country 97 FM, reporting on crime, real estate, labour, and environmental issues. Outside of work, he officiates box lacrosse and fastball, sits on the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame board, and co-hosts the Hockey North podcast.

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