Deer Lake Airport may have slump in light of low oil prices

Low oil prices may mean fewer jobs available for Newfoundland and Labrador workers heading to western Canada, and the airport in Deer Lake is preparing for a possible slump in some traffic.

2014 was the busiest year on record at Deer Lake Airport, according to CEO Jamie Schwartz.

"336,000 passengers about a 26,000 passenger increase over last year and the year before, so it was a record breaking year with an 8.4 per cent traffic increase over all," he said.

Schwartz added the increased amount of air traffic pushed the airport to add about 360 new long-term parking spots.

A lot of the vehicles parked in the long-term spot at Deer Lake are pick-up trucks, which likely belong to commuting workers headed for Alberta.

Canadian North runs seven flights a week from Deer Lake, bringing workers to and from various projects.

On Wednesday, the airline announced it anticipates staffing changes to accommodate fewer charter flights, as a result of lower oil prices.

According to Schwartz, the airport in Deer Lake doesn’t know what that means for its business just yet.

"A number of Canadian North Flights a week back in 2008, 2009 when we saw the same thing happen, we saw a decline in that traffic. So we're anticipating that we will be impacted, to what extend we really don't know yet," said Schwartz.

However, he said the airport is hoping the impact will be minimal, with number of southern destinations is on the rise, with Sunwing adding a weekly Orlando flight from Deer Lake.