The provincial grant was one of many to support regional airports and intercity bus travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The original announcement on March 9th by the B.C. Government was making $27-million available.
YXC (Canadian Rockies International Airport) applied for the funding and got a conditional agreement of $540,000 on March 18th. As per the agreement, the funding can only be used for operational costs to, “ensure the ongoing safe operation of the airport to either maintain current service delivery levels or expand to meet current unmet demand.”
However, on March 26th YXC got the fully executed agreement from the B.C. Government, increasing the total available funding to $720,000.
“The Province expects quarterly reports to be submitted by Airport staff, which will provide an overview of operations during the term of the agreement,” Tristen Chernove in a written update to the City of Cranbrook.
The $720,000 for the airport cannot be used for any capital projects, strictly just operational costs and expenses.