UPDATE: 4:15 p.m.

Minister of International Development Harjit Sajjan tweeted saying that he spoke with Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra about re-opening international services at 琉璃神社 International Airport (YLW).

鈥淗e will have an announcement shortly,鈥� Sajjan said.

I spoke with Minister who knows the importance of YLW for the residents of & the community in the , which includes opening to international routes. He will have announcement shortly.

鈥� Harjit Sajjan (@HarjitSajjan)

UPDATE: 2:43 p.m.

Minister of International Development Harjit Sajjan has reached out to the 琉璃神社 International Airport (YLW) in support of re-opening international travel, according to a tweet from the airport.

Thank you for reaching out in support of international travel returning to YLW. We are hopeful we will be able to provide international routes again soon!

鈥� 琉璃神社 International Airport (@ylwkelowna)

___

A chorus of voices from the 琉璃神社 business community is raising concern over the 琉璃神社 International Airport (YLW) still being closed to international travel.

The issue was formally brought to the Ministry of Transport on Oct. 27 by 琉璃神社-Lake Country MP, Tracy Gray, for the third time. She had sent two original letters one on July 30 and the other on Oct. 7.

Michael J. Ballingall, Senior Vice President of Big White Ski Resort, has also been vocal on the issue. He said in an interview with Capital News that the airport not being open to international travel is 鈥渞idiculous.鈥�

He said it鈥檚 a 鈥渂ureaucratic bungle,鈥� and that 鈥渟omeone鈥檚 just got to approve it, and away we go.鈥�

鈥淭he planes are ready to fly, the staff is in place, someone just needs to sign off on it in Ottawa. It鈥檚 not rocket science.鈥�

Joining Big White Ski Resort and Gray other Okanagan businesses are also fed up with the delay, such as CMH Heli-Skiing; 琉璃神社 Chamber of Commerce; 琉璃神社 Eye Care Center; Spence Valuation Group/SVG Capital Group; Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association; Tourism 琉璃神社.

READ MORE: 琉璃神社 airport at risk of losing $2.5M over stagnation of international travel

The airport has been closed to international travel since April 9, 2020. Other regional airports, such as Qu茅bec City鈥檚 Jean Lesage International Airport and Toronto Islands鈥� Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport have already been approved for international services.

鈥淎s one of the top ten busiest airports in the country prior to the pandemic 鈥� it astounds us that YLW is not open to international travel when other airports across the country with less passenger traffic have been given the green light by Transport Canada,鈥� Dan Rogers, executive director of 琉璃神社 Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement to Capital News. He said he recently brought the same statement to the B.C. Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services.

Ballingall said that international customers from places like California, Oregon, and Washington State can get to 琉璃神社 through a number of routes, including flying through Vancouver, Calgary, or Seattle. The latter route through Seattle is one of the most inexpensive and quickest ways, he said.

According to Ballingall, Big White has been promoting the Seattle route for more than 15 years.

鈥淵ou know, ski season is four weeks away. Our phones are ringing. People are inquiring. And they get very frustrated when they know that the pipeline they鈥檙e used to using has not re-opened when most of North America has re-opened.鈥�

鈥淪o, it鈥檚 a disadvantage to the Central Okanagan, for sure.鈥�

When asked about plans to mitigate potential issues, he said there is nothing they can do. 鈥淢ost politicians don鈥檛 even answer our emails.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e written new federal ministers on the subject. We鈥檝e lobbied bureaucrats, deputy ministers, assistant deputy ministers. We have a lobby group called the Capital Hill Group in Ottawa that is knocking on doors on our behalf,鈥� he said.

Fr茅d茅rica Dupuis with the Ministry of Transportation stated the federal government is prioritizing the health and safety of Canadians by taking a risk-based and measured approach to re-opening the borders.

鈥淐onsideration is being given to adding additional airports as conditions continue to improve. These decisions will be based on demand, operational capacity, the epidemiological situation in Canada and recommendations from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency,鈥� she said in an email to the Capital News.

However, she did not respond with any information in regards to an actual date of when YLW would open to international travel.

READ MORE: Election 2021: Tracy Gray 鈥� Conservative candidate for 琉璃神社-Lake Country

With files from Aaron Hemens

josh.fischlin@thefreepress.ca
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