The City of Cold Lake has set their sights on landing commercial air service; all they need is for the community to get on board.
For years, the city has been working with multiple partners on bringing commercial air service to Cold Lake, and now they're turning to the public to get their input.
Starting Nov. 14, the city opened a short survey so residents could have their say about bringing commercial air service to Cold Lake.
“We've had a great response so far. The idea is to put a survey out there to get people's thoughts from the business community and residents on what they would look for in a commercial air service,” said Mayor Craig Copeland.
It's open to residents living within an hour-and-a-half radius of the city. This is their target market should an airline service come to the municipality.
“We want to make sure everyone understands that this is gate-to-gate, where your baggage and yourself are going to be properly screened,” explained Copeland.
At the moment, the arline service would travel between Cold Lake and the Calgary International Airport.
The survey will help the city gather more information about where residents would want to go and at what cost.
This project is nothing new to the municipality. Since 2014, the city has been working with 4 Wing Cold Lake on a user agreement for the airstrip, which Copeland said is starting to “look really good.”
The city is hoping the results will prove Cold Lake residents and those in surrounding areas want an airline service.
“Because of the radius we want to serve, we are looking at about an hour-and-a-half radius. People from Meadow Lake or Lac La Biche could come into Cold Lake, park their vehicle and get on a flight. We're trying to encourage people from that region to fill out the survey, particularly the ticket price point,” continued Copeland.
Another key piece of information they are hoping to gather is connection times.
“I think the timing is good to get all of your information right now, while the economy is hurting. We want to try and get the air service up and running when the oil patch kicks-in again,” said Copeland.
He believes the opportunity is not only beneficial for residents, but also businesses within the community.
Having the ability to fly-in investors, businesses, and health care professionals, “will be critical for our area.”
“It's very important. In the end, it's going to come with a price tag. That amount of money has to be figured out. For the region, it's vital to have air service,” Copeland added. “I think people want to see gate-to-gate air service. When you look at the province, our area, which is north of Lloydminster, we are underserved. I think there is a lot of interest in this option, people want to get engaged, and they're definitely interested in the air service.”
The survey is open until Dec. 15, with links available on the city website.
