Prince George, B.C. – The  wildfires  in B.C. this summer have had  an impact on passenger numbers at the Prince George Airport,  as people  changed their vacation plans, choosing to fly rather than  attempt  to  deal with the highway closures that were in effect.

Both July and August saw record numbers of travellers through the terminal.

Passenger data for the month of July show over 42,000 people, an increase of 18% over the same month last year. In August, that number jumped to close to 46,000 an increase of 21% over 2016.

In addition to the  impact from the wildfires,  Prince George Airport Authority  President John Gibson says some flight  additions  also  can be  noted  for the increase  “Central Mountain Air’s additional flights to Edmonton, through to Calgary, and their non-stop flight to Dawson Creek can also be attributed to the double digit increase.”

Other months that experienced high growth this year included April at 9% and May with 6% over the same months last year.

Year to date traffic at YXS  is up 7.6% over 2016. Last year, 462,007 passengers travelled in and out of the Prince George Airport.