The federal government is launching a basket of programs to bolster airports with hundreds of millions of dollars in funding first announced back in November, but the sector says more drastic steps are needed.

Ottawa has opened the door to $740 million in capital investments for airports over the next six years, laying out detailed criteria for the hard-hit facilities to apply for aid.

About $490 million of that windfall is bound for large airports to put toward critical infrastructure such as runway repairs and transit stations.

Most of the rest is en route to smaller airports, whose definition has been loosened temporarily to allow eight more sites to apply, from Prince George, B.C., to Gander, Nfld.

The government previously announced $206 million over two years to support regional air transportation, and $229 million in additional rent relief to 21 airport authorities. Rent was waived for one to three years for smaller airports and deferred by a year for Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.

The aviation industry has been among the hardest-hit sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, with profits and passenger numbers plummeting amid travel restrictions and border shutdowns.

Airports get the bulk of their revenue from landing and terminal charges to carriers and parking and B次元官网网址渁irport improvement feesB次元官网网址� for travellers, all of which have tanked since March 2020. High fixed costs such as tarmac maintenance, utilities and debt servicing make the situation tougher.

The number of passengers entering Canada in the week of April 12 to 18 dwindled to 33,800, a fraction of the more than 700,000 international travellers that touched down in the same period in 2019, according to figures from the Canada Border Services Agency.

Canadian Airports Council president Daniel-Robert Gooch said any federal support is welcome, but that even half a billion dollars for large airports falls short of the aid required.

B次元官网网址淲e know that the $500 million is probably going to be dwarfed by other projects,B次元官网网址� he said in an interview, citing the constant need for infrastructure upgrades.

In a statement from the council, which represents more than 100 airports, Gooch stressed the need for more federal engagement and a restart plan.

B次元官网网址淚t is good to see federal government commitments made in the fall economic statement being fulfilled, with funds flowing to airports soon. Unfortunately, the situation is worse than it was when these measures were announced five months ago,B次元官网网址� he said.

Last week, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said G7 countries are working toward a B次元官网网址渃ommon platform for recognizing the vaccinated status of travellers.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 discussion about what a vaccine certificate would look like, what are the thresholds, what are the testing regimes that need to stay in place,B次元官网网址� he added Tuesday at a virtual press conference.

Alghabra declined to offer a timeline, saying it hinges on public-health conditions.

The minister also said he and Transport Department officials B次元官网网址渕eet regularly with airports, either as a council, as an association group or as individual airports, because their input is important to me.B次元官网网址�

However, Gooch said airports have not been part of the discussion on vaccine certificationso far.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 something weB次元官网网址檝e wanted to talk with the government about for quite some time,B次元官网网址� Gooch said.

B次元官网网址淢y organization has not yet had any direct discussions B次元官网网址� about what the governmentB次元官网网址檚 looking at in terms of digital passports.B次元官网网址�

Last month, the federal budget laid out $82.5 million for COVID-19 testing at airports when travel picks up.

B次元官网网址淲e are still awaiting details on what that means, but we think weB次元官网网址檒l get those details fairly soon,B次元官网网址� Gooch said.

Robert Kokonis, president of Toronto-based aviation consulting firm AirTrav Inc., said smaller airports have been hit particularly hard.

B次元官网网址淭his amount of funding will not be sufficient to get them where they need to be. Their balance sheets are in a massive state of disrepair,B次元官网网址� he said.

Mike McNaney, chief executive of the National Airlines Council of Canada, cited the United Kingdom as a model of how to roll out and follow a restart roadmap.

B次元官网网址淓stablishing the parameters for the safe restart of the sector, and clearly conveying a plan to the public, is essential if we are to continue to effectively support public health and CanadaB次元官网网址檚 overall economic recovery in communities large and small across the country,B次元官网网址� he said in a statement.

Calgary Airport Authority spokesman Reid Fiest said in an email that B次元官网网址渨hile capital funding is welcome and needed, the programs announced are not new and do not address the significant decline in revenue and passenger activity because of current COVID-19 travel restrictions and recommendations.B次元官网网址�

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