The Prince George Airport Authority (PGAA) is courting Chinese airlines to refuel at the Prince George International Airport instead of places such as Anchorage en route to other parts of North America, PGAA CEO John Gibson told Business in Vancouver November 21.
He took part in the recent Asian trade mission led by Premier Christy Clark and met representatives from seven Chinese airlines, he said.
“Each airline has given us a take-away to do some more work and follow up with them in the spring.”
Prince George airport extended its runway to 11,450 feet from 8,500 feet in 2009 and built a refuelling apron to handle three 747s at a time. Previously, it could not handle 747s.
By May, a common fuel storage space will be complete. That’s the final necessary component to luring Chinese business, Gibson said.
Gibson is not courting passenger traffic. Any Chinese airlines refuelling in Prince George would carry cargo, which would not be unloaded in Prince George.
Prince George has the capacity to handle disembarking Chinese passengers, but Gibson said the near-term goal is simply refuelling.
Clark told BIV during a conference call from Beijing earlier this month that she met with Si Xianmin, president of Asia’s largest airline, China Southern Airlines (CSA).
She said: “Our meeting was about how they can increase their flights from three times per week to Vancouver, to seven times per week and, also, whether they can start transiting through Prince George for their North American flights for refuelling, which would be a big economic boost for Prince George.”
Glen Korstrom
@GlenKorstrom