Kelowna Internatinal Airport runway expansion has now been completed
Runway expansion complete by Wayne Moore - Story: 42999
Nov 7, 2008 / 5:30 pm
"The $8 million expansion of the runway at Kelowna International Airport is complete.
Airport General Manager, Sam Samaddar, officially opened the runway during a ceremony Friday afternoon.
While the additional 1,600 feet of runway was the main attraction, a DC10-30F, the largest plane to ever land at the airport, was the star of the show.
The plane, owned by Kelowna Flightcraft, was flown in from Vancouver specifically for the official opening.
A CF-18 which was scheduled to perform a flyover was unable to make the trip from Cold Lake, Alberta, due to local weather conditions.
The runway expansion was the second such expansion in close to 20 years.
In 1990, the runway was expanded from 5,300 feet to 7,300 feet.
The latest addition was funded by all three levels of government.
The federal and provincial governments each chipped in with $1.35 million, while the City of Kelowna contributed the remaining $5.3 million through the Airport Improvement Fund."
The days of larger aircraft carrying visitors from the UK and Australia is now about to become a reality! The most recent expansion of Kelowna International Airport will allow for direct flights from the cities of London and Sydney. The financial impact on the Okangan from these new flights have the potential to be something extraordinary. The tourism business has long been a staple to this city and the surrounding communities. These are exciting times to live in the Sunny Okanagan and I welcome our international guests to come and explore why this region is indeed a special one.
Sincerely,
Jason Neumann
Kelowna Real Estate Blog
Posted by Jason Neumann
on November 8, 2008