Muskoka Airport

5 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 7 MUSKOKA AI RPORT In 2021, as O’Connor revealed, that economic impact for the Muskoka Airport was some $40 million. “Now for a small airport, that’s substantial,” he said. “And working with the master plan in five years from 2021, the economists predicted we would have an economic impact of approximately $105 million, and that’s direct, indirect and induced impact. It’s very good. The master plan was derived from complete stakeholders’ computations in the airport, outside the airport, from the chamber (of commerce) and the tourist organizations. And that’s where all the information came from to put this master plan together. It’s a good path forward.” Lehman noted the airport’s ancillary benefits to other businesses. “A really good example is this paint shop: Muskoka Aircraft Refinishing,” he said. “They are bringing in aircraft that are being used by commercial airlines across the U.S. and Canada. So you can do business from an airport like Muskoka, truly anywhere in the world. In the aviation industry, there is a real role for airports like Muskoka to provide services to the industry across the continent. That is what we are seeing, in terms of the growth.” And talking of that master plan, what about space? “We have a couple of new hangars going up that have been approved,” O’Connor revealed. “That’s mostly to support the recreational fliers.” He added that the runway is 6,000 feet long and 150 feet wide. “That can accommodate most large airplanes,” he said. “There are no plans to expand the runway, and there’s no need to expand for the next 20 years. This can handle the traffic that is predicted to come into the area in the next 20 years with no problems.” O’Connor said the master plan is greatly focused on hangar development, commercial and recreational development and expansion related to scheduled service. Post-COVID “When COVID hit, it did have a big impact on scheduled service,” O’Connor said. “We are hoping to get that back. When that will happen we don’t know. We’re still dealing with after-effects of COVID. We call it post- COVID effects. You see that all over the airline industry. The dust has not settled yet. You see that with airlines canceling flights and rerouting. We are in contact with the aviation industry out there, saying, ‘Hey, we are open for business here.’ So once we get that scheduled service back in here, and it is going to happen. It’s just a matter of when.” Lehman extolled the airport’s staffers and O’Connor’s leadership.