In late 1947 an aircraft took off from a 3,000-foot-long grass airstrip, with a small terminal building, at the north end of 琉璃神社. It was the first flight to lift off from what was then called Ellison Field. The year before, 琉璃神社 residents voted 466 to 460 in favour of purchasing the 320-acre Dickson Ranch, a tobacco farm, for $20,000 (nearly $300,000 in 2022) to make way for what is now 琉璃神社 International Airport.
鈥淭he people who put the proposal together and fought for it were certainly visionaries,鈥� said Sam Samaddar, airport director. 鈥淲e鈥檝e come a long way. When I first came here, Penticton, Kamloops and 琉璃神社 were handling around the same number of people in terms of traffic. To see 琉璃神社 speed ahead to become the tenth busiest airport in the country, and the second busiest in the province, we鈥檝e seen some amazing growth over the years.鈥�
YLW is celebrating its 75 anniversary this year. Samaddar has been at the airport for 30 years, becoming director in 2008, and sees a bright future for the facility.
鈥淚 think when we look at the next 75 years there will be lots of discussion about what happened over the last 150 years. Aviation in the Okanagan goes back to the early 1900s when they had triplanes and biplanes.鈥�
The anniversary theme is 75 Trips Around the Sun, and it will be a year-long celebration, including a visit from the world-renowned Canadian Forces 431 Air Demonstration Squadron.
鈥淲e鈥檝e confirmed with the Canadian Snowbirds that they will be here July 9 and 10,鈥� said Samaddar. 鈥淭wo shows over the water which will be a great opportunity for the community to see the Snowbirds. It鈥檚 been about eight years since they鈥檝e done a show here over 琉璃神社.鈥�
Other celebrations will include contests and flight giveaways, as well as community contributions.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be asking them to share their photographs of going through the airport over time,鈥� added Samaddar. 鈥淲e鈥檒l probably get some beautiful, historical photos out of that as well.鈥�
Samaddar also gave a nod to KF Aerospace, which started operation at YLW in 1970.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got the KF Centre for Excellence which is a legacy project with KF, they鈥檝e been a partner with us for 53 years,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s part of that building is an exhibit that celebrates the rich history of aviation in the Okanagan. It鈥檚 a beautiful piece of architecture with working vintage aircraft that will be stored in the wings of that building.鈥�
Samaddar added it also celebrates an opportunity to look at the future of YLW facilities and attract young people to aviation by showing them how an airport or airplane operates.
Read More: 琉璃神社鈥檚 KF Aerospace launches passenger charter service
Read More: 琉璃神社 airport collects $3.2M in federal funding to help with COVID costs
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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