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Once travellers are through security at the Regina International Airport, the choices for food and drink are pretty slim.
That could soon be changing.
At the Regina Airport Authority’s annual general meeting Wednesday, CEO James Bogusz said the airport has plans to move the security screening process downstairs to improve food and relaxation options for people upstairs.
“This will allow customers flying on a plane to go beyond security and get a full-serve Tim Horton’s, enjoy a Skyway, a breakfast with bacon and eggs past security,” Bogusz said.
“Everyone gets a little intimidated wondering how long that security line is going to be when it’s busy.”
Along with more food options for travellers, Bogusz said the area will also feature a play area for children and new seating options as well.
“We’ve already been looking at some really cool new seats,” he said. “I want USB plugs now. I want an area to be able to watch the young kids play. We’re going to be looking to incorporate all of that with this new renovation.”
The renovations could get board approval by the end of June. Bogusz said renovations could begin right away once they are approved. While they could take three to four months to complete, Bogusz said temporary fencing could go up instantly and airport officials could begin to use the second floor in its new capacity once it’s up.
The process of moving security downstairs will take a little longer, with it being apart of their 3-5 year plan.
One of the reasons the airport is able to do these upgrades is that there was a 1.55-per-cent increase in the number of people who flew from the airport last year, jumping to 1,238,239 customers.
Revenue for the airport also jumped by $903,000, which was a 3.2-per-cent increase.
United Airlines a target, ultra-low-cost flights unlikely
Not only is Bogusz wanting to improve the experience for customers inside the airport, but he’s busy trying to make things easier for travellers in the air as well.
He said two things he is targeting are a direct flight to Montreal and bringing back service to Denver.
In 2015, United Airlines pulled service from Regina. The next year, Delta did the same thing.
He said the most likely company to return to the airport is United and it has been something he has been pushing for.
“Since I’ve been here, and certainly it even predates me, the airport continues to market to that airline,” Bogusz said. “We’ve offered a very aggressive incentive package to help reduce (United’s) financial risk coming into the community.”
While he couldn’t give a timeline, he said the airport is trying everything in its power to bring United back.
But travellers hoping to see an ultra-low-cost airline come to Regina might need to wait a while longer.
Bogusz said he has spoken with Flair this year, but noted it tried to get up and running in Saskatoon — but that never came to fruition.
“They couldn’t pre-sell enough tickets between those city pairs that they were looking at,” Bogusz said.
Bogusz said if there is an opportunity to bring an ultra-low-cost airline to the city, the airport will welcome it with open arms.
Editor’s note: A sentence has been added to clarify moving security downstairs is a part of a longer term plan that could take multiple years to complete.