Kelowna International Airport is located 11.5km northeast of Kelowna in British Columbia, Canada. It is owned by transport Canada and operated by the City of Kelowna. It has one runway (16/34) which is 2,713m long and paved with asphalt.
The airport handled passenger traffic of 1.39 million and recorded 73,434 aircraft movements in 2010. The passenger traffic has increased by 1.8% compared to 2009.
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Expansions of Kelowna
A terminal expansion project was launched at the airport in order to meet the passenger traffic which is forecast to grow to 1.6 million by 2015.
It includes expanding the terminal to the north and providing a new primary inspection area for screening international passengers, public washrooms and an extension airside corridor.
The phased out expansion is estimated to cost $50.5m in total and $7.9m for the first phase. A contract worth $4.8m was awarded to Delnor Construction in September 2011 for the first phase of expansion. The construction is expected to be completed by Autumn 2012.
Master plan for the Canadian airport
The master plan for the airport was prepared in July 2006. It proposed the expansion of the airport facilities by 2025 at an estimated cost of $150m.
It proposed doubling the size of the passenger terminal, increasing parking space by constructing a 2,400 space parkade and reducing traffic congestion by constructing a diamond overpass interchange on Highway 97 by 2025.
The runway of the airport was extended to 2,713m (8,900ft) at a cost of $8m in 2008, as part of the master plan implementation. The construction began in February 2008 and was completed in October 2008. It was funded by the city of Kelowna with $5.3m, while Federal and provincial governments contributed $1.35m each.
The master plan proposed to increase the runway length to 3,000m (10,000ft) by 2025.
Terminal features
The airport has a single passenger terminal with 76,000ft2 (7,100m2) of area. It is facilitated with 24 check-in desks, eight gates, five aerobridges and three baggage claim belts.
It has an auto exchange machine, restaurants, cafeterias, bars, a duty free shop, newsagent / tobacconist, gift shop and tourist help desk.
The terminal also has car rental, taxi service, business centre, first aid, baby / parent rooms and access facilities for the disabled people.
The new screening area at the airport was opened in May 2008. It features four fully operational screening lines. The airport is facilitated with Pro Vision 3D body scanners, which produces a naked body of a person and to detect plastic explosives or other dangerous items.
The airport also has two cargo terminals. The cargo facilities include a bonded warehouse, free port / foreign trade zone and express / courier centre.
Contractors involved in the Kelowna International Airport plans
In 2006 Ansell Construction was awarded with a general civil contract to construct a major parking improvement. The contractor worked in association with EBA Engineering Consultants and completed the project within time.
In December 2008, a $3.7m contract was awarded to Cohos Evamy to provide designs for a new international arrivals concourse as well as expansion of the air terminal building and upgrade of other facilities.
The airport facility maintenance and operations are supervised and managed by on-site contract manager Black & McDonald.
ATC
A new air traffic control (ATC) tower was opened at the airport in June 2002. It was built by Nav Canada at a cost of $5m. It is 21m in height and located in the east side of the airfield.
It is equipped with digital voice switch communications system and auxiliary radar display system. The old ATC tower at the airport was built in1970s.
The airport has many ground transportation facilities available. Bus transit facilities are operated by BC Transit and the Airport shuttle bus service is available outside the south terminal building.
Four licensed taxi companies provide services at the airport. Four approved car rental companies which include Avis, Budget, Enterprise and National agencies offer services from the main terminal building.
Parking
The airport offers more than 2,200 parking spaces, including 321 short-term and 1,900 long-term spaces.
