Airport feud has dogged Edmonton for over 50 years

Airport feud has dogged Edmonton for over 50 years
The Edmonton Journal, Canada

March 22, 2004

 
Maybe it was the combined stink of machine oil and
self-righteousness that got to me.

Maybe it was all the ill will and bad humour in that
old airplane hangar.

I walked out of the Alberta Aviation Museum after a
forum last week -- a partisan affair on the future of
the City Centre Airport -- with even more frustration
than I walked in with. Those at the forum who spoke
for the City Centre Airport were cheered. Those who
spoke for moving air service to the International
Airport were jeered. The facts mattered not.

As was stated again at the forum, Edmonton's two
airports have been pitted in an ugly and emotional
battle for 50 years. How do we remain in this mess?

We can't seem to find a solution or call a truce. We
thought we did in 1995, when 77 per cent of Edmonton
voters supported consolidation of scheduled air
service at the International Airport.

No, the vote didn't legally bind city council. But it
sure as hell bound them politically, if not morally,
to carry out voters' wishes.

Yet, Edmontonians still haven't seen closure on this
issue. We continue to be assailed by two completely
different perspectives and asked to believe one, not
the other.

The first argues that moving all scheduled air service
to the International will provide the critical mass to
attract additional air service to the region, which is
integral to Edmonton's future economic ambitions.

But on the other hand, we're told that scheduling air
service to the north out of the City Centre Airport is
crucial to Edmonton's future economy. As Alberta
Economic Development Minister Mark Norris keeps
repeating, $50 billion worth of projects are underway
in northern Alberta and the City Centre Airport is
Edmonton's connection to it.

Yet the statistics reveal that more than 95 per cent
of all scheduled passengers flying into and out of
Edmonton -- to and from all points in Alberta,
including the north -- already use the International.
Given that fact, how can Norris say the City Centre
Airport's operations are critical to Edmonton's
economy?

But this debate doesn't turn on facts. It never has.
It's a political issue that relies more on emotions,
perceptions and "spin" than reality.

When Edmonton Airports announced last November its
plans to finally move all scheduled service to the
International -- only three per cent of the total
remains at the City Centre Airport -- northern mayors
went ballistic and Norris jumped into the fray.

As a result, another committee was struck. It will be
reporting soon to the Edmonton Airports board. But
Norris let the cat out of the bag, saying the
committee will recommend scheduled service remain at
the City Centre.

Why am I not surprised? It's been clear from the
get-go that the Klein government wasn't going to allow
the Edmonton region to decide the issue. Not with so
many influential Albertans enjoying the convenience of
flying into our subsidized, inner-city airport.

Throughout all this, Mayor Bill Smith and council have
stayed mostly silent. Clearly, it's high time they
stepped up. If air service is to remain at the City
Centre, then it must be on the Edmonton region's
terms.

First, all scheduled flights to Calgary out of the
City Centre must end. As long as Edmonton continues to
act as a spoke to Calgary's hub, air service to
Edmonton and all of northern Alberta will suffer.

Secondly, we must set an end date. Scheduled service
to the north from the City Centre Airport will be
allowed, but just for a transition period.

In the meantime, the city, in conjunction with the
Klein government, must fund the capital improvements
needed to reduce travel times from downtown Edmonton
to the International. Norris told me in a conversation
last week that his government is supportive of such a
plan.

Third, one runway must be closed at the City Centre.
This would allow further development at the airport
and help reduce the subsidy of its operations.

Anti-consolidation forces talked last week of how much
engineering work for the northern oilsands is done out
of Calgary. They argued that keeping the City Centre
Airport open will allow Edmonton to chase these
businesses.

OK, then. Prove it. Prove to us it's possible. If you
can attract such business to Edmonton, you'll win the
debate.

Some of us remain skeptical, however. You'll have to
sway us with the facts, with reality. Emotional
arguments won't fly. Not for five years, let alone
another 50.


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