Transport committee  It's a universal problem across rural jurisdictions all over the world. There is not yet any ready replacement for something in the sub-50-seat range that is intended to service light-density spoke markets and can operate economically. I think a lot of those problems would be solved with the development of that.

Transport committee  To your point, yes, we do. You referenced market studies. That is really the spine of how you make a pitch to an airline for a new or enhanced air service. We do that recurrently with consultants and internally. We also quantify the number of people who live in our market but fly from a neighbouring market—as can happen in Prince Rupert, of course.

Transport committee  Yes, I absolutely do share that concern. It's a very delicate balance to protect the needs of consumers. I think we would all universally agree on that, but there may be unintended consequences. Without getting into too much detail, I think the demands for the time in which a delayed flight has to be recovered by the airline make it very easy for them to axe markets that don't have daily service.

Transport committee  I certainly would like to see the safe lifespan of certain older-model aircraft extended. Some of them are great workhorses in the regional market. I don't feel like I am informed enough to understand where Canada sits vis-à-vis neighbouring countries in terms of adoption of technology.

Transport committee  That is an excellent point and those are excellent questions. A broad assessment of airfares in markets that are considered monopolistic or don't have many of the nation's airlines there would be helpful. I do know that in our market there are a host of challenges, which you outlined, not the least of which can be pricing.

Transport committee  Yes, we were talking among peers, and it just seems overdue. I think we keep going back to the biblical age, but with some of these policies we view, profound things have happened in travel, aviation and technology over 30 years. I think that part of any review of competition, looking at the blue sky agreement in particular informs competition and access to the nation.

Transport committee  No. There were a suite of measures that happened over the pandemic to sort of carry us through when our business fell off by 90%. We had to stay open for non-commercial reasons such as life-saving and medical support and things like that. I think that amounted to $6 million or $7 million, and, for a limited time, national airports like Gander were included in what's called the airports capital assistance program.

Transport committee  No, I was referring to the airlines. I don't have a strong opinion one way or another, but I think it's important to at least have a cursory look at it to see if it would be stimulating. Certainly, I join the rest of Canada in saying that the collapse of Lynx Air is poor for Canadians.

Transport committee  Sure. Actually, as part of the pandemic support, our payments to the federal government were essentially waived last year. We'll resume payment this year. For our airport, it's not a sizable amount. I think it's about $55,000 to $60,000 a year based on a graduated revenue formula.

Transport committee  Ours would be in the top 75th percentile in Canada. Ours is currently at $35. There's a very simple reason for that. We have to spread operating costs across too few passengers. That's added to the ticket, not unlike some of the other fees and charges that are there, which I know airlines don't like.

Transport committee  Yes. I think anything that adds to the end use of the consumer does choke off demand, for sure.

Transport committee  Yes. Absent my accountant being here, I mean, anything new and incremental certainly does add to our operating cost. To your point about the airlines and fees and regimes, it's important to keep in mind that Gander airport is a national airports system airport. We took the airport on behalf of the federal government with the intent that the community was best positioned to represent the airport's needs and the needs of constituents, but it was also based on airports being self-sustaining and recovering their costs through user fees.

Transport committee  Thank you. I wish I could join you in person today, but I'm glad to be here to make an appearance. I'm in Gander in central Newfoundland, which may not be technically considered remote, but on my morning commute this morning, I passed two moose and just three stoplights, so it is, in fact, rural.