Newfoundland and Labrador’s government has announced an “Air Access Pilot Program” that allows people of Labrador and parts of the Great Northern Peninsula to access a subsidy to help lower the soaring cost of air travel in the province.
At the Aug. 28 announcement at Goose Bay Airport, Labrador Affairs Minister Lisa Dempster cited a report by the Goose Bay Airport Corp. that showed air travel costs have increased by 9% nationally, but 33% out of Goose Bay and up to 47% out of the Wabush Airport.
The minister said a program has been in the works since last fall, in conjunction with Provincial Airlines, the Competition Bureau, the federal Department of Transportation, and others.
“Although government is usually not into the business of doing partnerships with airlines, we knew that something had to be done,” she said.
Now in effect, details include:
- Residents of Labrador or in the Labrador-Grenfell Region can apply to get the subsidized tickets through an online form
- 175 tickets per week will be available at discount rates throughout Labrador
- The subsidized tickets will have a “special base fare” plus a 30% discount subsidized by the province
- Subsidized tickets will be capped at two round trips per person each calendar year
- People need to book in advance (check online for conditions)
- Tickets are for personal or leisure travel only
- Medical travel is covered by the Medical Travel Assistance Program
- Tickets will need to start from a Labrador airport, including Goose Bay, Wabush, and the six north coast airstrips, Blanc Sablon or St. Anthony
- Passengers, except north coast residents, need to be going to St. John’s, Gander or Deer Lake
- For north coast residents, tickets can include travel to and from the Goose Bay Airport, and,
- The number of seats will be allocated per airport based on population density.
As an example, Dempster said currently a round-trip flight from Goose Bay to St. John’s costs about $1,100. The new base fare will be $898, with another 30% subsized by the province, bringing the total round-trip fare to $628.
The application process for the subsidy ensures corporations cannot access the program for business travel, Dempster explained, adding the government will monitor and continue to improve the program. “We can’t let perfect be the enemy of the good. We start and we will listen,” she said. “I’ve been dealing with medical transportation since Budget 2023 and we’ve made a number of enhancements, and I would say that we’re not finished yet.”
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