Miramichi Airport poised to seek out business
Provincial, municipal funding will allow airport to hire aviation development officer with global network of contacts By Kris McDavid -Times & Transcript Staff
The Miramichi Airport Commission believes that the right hire could lead to great things, as the organization looks to live up to what many believe is endless potential.
Miramichi's airport, since the closure of the CFB Chatham airbase in the early 1990s, has been viewed by everyone from politicians to economic development experts, along with many average citizens, as an untapped gem just waiting to be discovered.
Blessed with the longest runway in eastern Canada, ample free airspace, and a willingness to do business, the Miramichi Airport may be on the verge of turning a corner.
Fresh off an announcement last month courtesy of the federal government and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty for $1.5 million toward a new $3.5-million multipurpose terminal, the Miramichi Airport was granted funding from the provincial government yesterday for an initiative the airport commission is hopeful will help fill that new terminal, when it's built.
Miramichi Bay-du-Vin MLA Bill Fraser unveiled $450,000 in funding through the Regional Development Corporation over the next three years, on top of $200,000 provided by the City of Miramichi, to the airport for the hiring of a full-time economic development officer.
The airport's headhunter will, once hired, be responsible for seeking out investment and business opportunities at the airport, and help the organization reach its economic goals.
Miramichi Airport Commission president Thomas Linkletter said the new development officer will be the point man for grooming and growing the airport, noting that although he doesn't have a candidate in mind he has a specific idea about what type of person he'd like to see fill the void.
"We're looking for an 'A' player; somebody who has a Rolodex that reaches around the world, somebody who knows the president of Bombardier, Boeing, and all of these people," Linkletter said.
"Somebody who is going to put us on the map and move us forward, so it's exciting."
When asked about what the vision is for developing the airport into a regional aviation powerhouse, Linkletter said that it all adds up to transforming the Miramichi Airport and the land surrounding it into a world-class aviation business park.
While the mandate for the commission has historically involved attracting passenger flight service back to the airport, Linkletter said that focus has tailed off in recent years.
"Our main focus is to make people say 'wow', they turned that piece of real estate into something (special)," he said.
"Air cargo is going to be one of our biggest focuses, and passenger service is in the hands of Air Canada and the federal government, so we'll just leave that for now, but we see big potential here."
The airport currently generates revenue through private landings and takeoffs, and is also home to Forest Protection Limited; the firm contracted by the provincial Department of Natural Resources to manage New Brunswick's aerial forest fire attack.
FPL has been inked to a new long-term contract through 2021 that will see the provincial bomber fleet remain operating out of their new Miramichi hangar.
Fraser said it's hard to argue with what the airport is trying to do, noting that their success is going to be a crucial cog in any turnaround of the downtrodden Miramichi economy.
"We have a real gem here with this airport - we have a lot of advantages here over all of the other airports in Atlantic Canada and certainly many located anywhere in Canada," Fraser said.
Linkletter acknowledged that talks to secure a flight college at the airport are moving ahead, if a little slower than first anticipated, but he noted there is no reason to believe that initiative won't work out in the end.
When Flaherty announced the federal half of the funding for the new airport terminal last month - a building that would be needed in order to attract business opportunities, including any potential flight school - it was contingent on being met in-kind by the provincial government.
Fraser said the Government of Canada might have put the cart before the horse on that announcement.
He said the Graham government thought it was a little premature to commit funding to a building that, at this point, has nobody to call it home.
"What's key here is to identify some economic opportunities first, because it's hard to build infrastructure if you don't know what you're building it for," he said.
"Hopefully when the opportunities are found the federal money is still available, and then the province will certainly be on board to help, because we certainly want to help as well."
No matter which way you slice it, Miramichi Mayor Gerry Cormier was a happy camper yesterday, and said the city appears to be building some semblance of momentum.
"This is another good day for the City of Miramichi," he said.
