News - Stephenville International Airport

The Stephenville Airport Citizens Committee is looking for people in the western Newfoundland region to reach in their pockets and pull out money for Stephenville Airport.

Bill Hynes, committee chair, says even more than that, the committee wants people’s support.

Hynes is hoping people will donate something toward the purchase of fuel tanks for the airport while the business plan is being constructed.

So far the group has raised a little more than $5,000 toward the goal. It hopes to gather about $750,000 to build the tanks members believe will restore the credibility of the airport. He said there must be enough fuel on hand for times when flights get diverted.

Hynes told the Rotary Club of Corner Brook at its Thursday meeting the goal is a worthy one, and saving the airport means saving jobs.

He worked at the Labrador Linerboard facility until it closed, then at the Abitibi newsprint operation until it closed, so he knows what it is to have something shut down when people are depending on it for an income. He doesn’t want that to happen to the 18-20 employees of the airport. He said donating to the airport fund is important not just for the cash value.

“It’s a form of solidarity for the region that everybody still wants the airport, and shows the government we still want the airport,” Hynes said. “Hopefully the government will see fit to give us funds for the airport because it’s a facility that can’t be built today.”

He said the two runways in Stephenville are the best in Atlantic Canada. They can take anything in the world with wings, and that’s something that can’t be found just anywhere.

The airport is not dying, he said, but it needs diversification, whether that’s refuelling for heavy aircraft; working as a forward base of operation for corporate jets, giving them a place to refuel and the passengers a place to stretch in comfort; a flight school; or perhaps as a cargo terminal with a deep water port 10 minutes away.

Hynes said the Stephenville committee is not after business from the Deer Lake Regional Airport, but believes what’s good for the region is good for all the region.

“If we get our airport up, running and viable, that means more people coming to Corner Brook to spend money because Corner Brook is the major centre on the west coast,” he said. “It’s like (Barak) Obama said, ‘it’s time for everybody to start pulling together instead of trying to stand alone.’”

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