Parking has been expanded at Nanaimo Airport to meet demand, according to the Nanaimo Airport Commission president and CEO Mike Hooper.
Hooper said the parking footprint has been increased at the airport with a gravel parking area, the latest of which was installed two months ago.
“We’ve added additional parking this year for 50 cars and as we go forward, we’re going to rotate through and add gravel parking areas and as our customer base increases, we’ll pave them and add more and we’ll sort of rotate through that way,” Hooper said.
While there are no current plans, the airport could add multi-level parking eventually, he said.
“What we have is a long-term parking plan and we’re working to ensure we meet our growing customers’ needs ... into the future, at some point, within the next several decades, we’d start to contemplate things like a multi-level environment,” said Hooper.
The airport commission also announced the Century Flight Club’s B.C. Discovery Tour will head into Nanaimo this weekend.
According to a press release, the conference begins Saturday (July 12), with delegates from across Canada arriving via 100 private aircraft, and runs until July 17. Hooper said 15 to 20 private aircraft will arrive per hour between 1-7 p.m.
Groups of 20 to 30 aircraft will take off each day of the conference for day tours, he said.