Prince George, B.C. –  YXS has confirmed it plans to apply for provincial infrastructure funding for smaller and regional airports in the province.

$10 million will be made available through the 2017-2018 Air Access Program and was announced by Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone last week.

“Yes we will be,” says president and CEO John Gibson. “We haven’t got our priorities for the BC Air Access Program sorted out right now. They have certain funding programs and guidelines. We have our own priorities and we’ve got to make sure that the ones that we want are actually fundable within the terms of reference.”

He says they should have their priorities sorted out in three to four weeks but notes they may consider something noted by passengers the second quarter of this year.

“It was identified in the surveys from the passengers that we should improve our access from our parking lot to the terminal buildings but we don’t know if that kind of project falls under the guidelines of the BC Air Access Program.”

If their application is approved, Gibson says it would involve some sort of cost-sharing agreement.

“We’ve got a 10-year capital program – it’s between $50 and $60 million dollars that we have and we can’t afford any more than about $3 or $4 million a year without increasing the Airport Improvement Fee. So any money we can get is a help.”

And though their last two applications for funding under the program failed, he’s more optimistic this time around.

“We’ve been keeping the pressure on over the last two years, they know us, they recognize us, they know our story so we just have to make sure we hit the right project that meets their guidelines this time.”

The deadline to apply for 2017-2018 funding is December 16, 2016.