The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The northern Manitoba town of Lynn Lake is closing its airport. The Lynn Lake Airport is a valuable and needed facility for northwestern Manitoba, but Lynn Lake Mayor James Lindsay says the cost is too great for the municipal government to bear. Lynn Lake council voted March 26 to shut down the airport, which will close permanently on May 6. 'The Town of Lynn Lake needs this facility, we just cannot afford the financial or the human resource commitment required to keep it operational,' said Lindsay in an e-mail. 'The entire northwest region of Manitoba needs this airport to be here, both public and private sectors. The need is clear. Our people have been going above-and-beyond to maintain operations, and our budgets just cannot keep up to the cost.' Lindsay told CBC that operating the airport was using up about 20 per cent of the town's budget. He announced the pending closure on his Twitter account, writing: 'Lynn Lake Airport #CYLL scheduled to close May 6th, 2013. Done everything we can. #canpoli'. No staff will lose their jobs as a result of the closure, as the town foreman has been taking care of daily runway tests, inspections, wildlife management and snow-clearing since the retirement of the previous foreman and the loss of the airport attendant last year. The town's chief administrative officer has been acting as airport manager. 'The pending closure of our airport just means they will be able to focus fully on the jobs we originally hired them for,' said Lindsay. The airport has seen less revenue from landing fees as the number of arrivals has declined. 'Overall, our landings have declined from about 1,400/year to just over 900/year projected for 2013 (with loss of scheduled service),' says Lindsay. 'This generates about $20,000 in revenue, far out-stripping our operational costs.' Other sources of revenue _ such as fuel commissions and concessions the airport received from having its airport attendant refueling planes or the rental of overnight suites to Greyhound bus drivers _ have dried up. Imperial Oil ended its lease and removed its fuel tanks in 2011 and Greyhound bus service to the community was discontinued last year. Apart from counter rentals by airlines and some other operational agreements, all other costs have been borne by Lynn Lake taxpayers. Perimeter Airlines stopped offering regularly scheduled thrice-weekly flights to Thompson in September 2012. Bearskin Airlines offered seasonal service three days a week from May to September and Lindsay believed they would have continued to do so if the closure was not decided upon. The town's airport reserve fund, which was previously used to cover operating deficits, ran out in late 2011 or early 2012, says Lindsay, who became Lynn Lake's mayor in February 2012. Float planes will still be able to land at Lynn Lake's Eldon Lake Waterbase, but Lindsay worries about the effect it will have on access to medical care for residents. - Ian Graham, Thompson Citizen
