The number of passengers passing through Prince George Airport hit an unprecedented level in 2012.
A record-breaking 418,589 used YXS, beating the old standard set in 2008 by 1,105 passengers.
The figure also represented a 16,000 passenger increase over 2011.
?Beating the previous record is extremely impressive because in 2008 we had more service to Vancouver and beyond than in 2012," airport president and CEO John Gibson said. "For six months of the year, there were non-stop flights to Seattle and Calgary.?
Following 2008, when the count was 417,484, the numbers took a dip as the recession hit, dropping to 376,030 in 2009 before rising to 390,340 in 2010 and then 402,438 in 2011.
?The economy continues to be the prime reason for the traffic increase," airport marketing and communications manager Lindsay Cotter said. "Load factors are extremely high out of YXS and we continue to work with the carriers to add more frequency.?
Work continues, meanwhile, on laying the groundwork at the airport's north end to attract cargo carriers on a regular basis and on developing land to the east into a large-scale light industrial area.
A replacement pump station for the new fuel farm - centred on four tanks capable of supplying a total of 600,000 litres of fuel each day - should arrive in February after the original one was damaged in transit.
"The it will be connected and inspected and then we are anticipating the farm to be commissioned in June," Cotter said.
As for the cargo warehouse complex, Cotter said they haven't seen the progress they had hoped for but are confident it will be complete and ready to host businesses by late this year.
As for the fledgling Prince George Global Logistics Park, the light industrial area next to the airport, developer Harry Backlin said the first phase of property he is selling is now listed for sale at $225,000 per acre.
Backlin said one company has expressed interest in buying eight acres for a venture that would employ 80 to 110 people full-time. "They came in, they flew around the city, they saw the airport property, they liked what they saw," Backlin said.
He is marketing the land on behalf of Lower Mainland businessman Henry Rempel, who owns about 80 per cent of the 1,200 hectare (3,000 acre) site and is continuing to seek a tax "incentive" from city council for improvements to the land sold.
He contends the money the city would lose on tax revenue at the logistics park would be more than made up for by the population growth it will generate and claims several other municipalities have granted similar breaks.
Work on the Boundary Road project, the 6.8-kilometre, two-lane, arterial-grade road connecting Highway 16 East with Highway 97 South alongside the airport, remains scheduled for completion in October, said city engineering assistant Jim Litzen.
In all $28 million has been budgeted for the work. The federal and provincial governments are providing $7.5 million each, the city is contributing $6.5 million of which $5.6 million will be covered by reserves built up in the development cost charge reserves while $892,000 will be borrowed through the Municipal Finance Authority.
