Prince George Airport president John Gibson will be taking his advocacy role for the airport to a higher altitude as chairman of the Canadian Airports Council's small airport caucus.
Gibson has served as a director of the national body since 2010, and served as vice-chair of the small airports caucus. Gibson was elected to the role last week at the organization's annual general meeting.
"It's really nice to get the opportunity to represent Prince George, as well as all the small airports in Canada," Gibson said. "The profile [of the position] will be much higher, because I'm on the executive committee."
The position will mean Gibson is at the table when the Canadian Airports Council meets with senior government officials to discuss federal policy. The Council represents over 200 airports in Canada, and along with airline, tourism and hospitality associations, has a voice in Ottawa, he said.
Gibson said he intends to advocate for regulatory changes which would make smaller airports like Prince George Airport more competitive with their U.S. counterparts.
Many federal laws governing airports and aviation have a, "one-size-fits-all regulations," he said.
There needs to be more flexibility, and competitive cost structures, to ensure Canada's airports and airlines remain competitive, he added.
"If we keep more traffic in Canada, than the government gets the revenue through other forms of taxation," he said.
