Edmonton airport planning to double

The Edmonton International Airport will have to double capacity by 2035 in order to keep up with oil development in northern Alberta, a spokesperson said Saturday.

Sarah Meffen said the airport held a well-attended open house Saturday to publicly present its a draft master plan for the next 25 years.

"It really is a plan for us to think ahead and look at the infrastructure that would be required the serve the region, which is growing in leaps and bounds."

Meffen said the past few years have brought a lot more passenger and cargo flights heading up north due to growth in the northern resource sector. If development in the resource sector keeps pace, the airport will have to keep up.

"That is key to planning for us. We need to anticipate the plan and make sure the infrastructure is in place and the air services are ready to go, because we are the gateway to the North."

The Edmonton airport moves approximately 6.5 million passengers per year and for a few years this past decade, was the fastest growing airport in Canada, Meffen said.

The airport is already about 500,000 people over capacity, and at its current rate of growth, could almost double its traffic to 12 million passengers per year by 2031 and surpass 13 million by 2035.

The draft master plan includes additional gates, commercial development in and around the airport, setting aside land for a potential high speed train link, and a third runway by 2030.

The public can view and comment on the plan online until April 27. The plan will go to Transport Canada for approval later this year.