Imagine catching a flight from Gravenhurst to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport? Or resort packages involving commercial flights to Gravenhurst from where a bus would ferry tourists to area resorts?
These are possibilities currently being examined.
The plan
“This is a pilot project, no pun intended. The idea would be to bring commercial air services in for 12 weeks starting in June or July of 2017. We’re looking at options to create either a temporary facility to make sure the initiative is successful or potentially build something that could always be repurposed later,” explained District Planning and Economic Development Commissioner Samantha Hastings. “The biggest test is, would there be enough benefits to justify doing anything at all? That’s what we’re trying to ascertain right now.”
The first thing that would be required for commercial airlines to make stops at Muskoka Airport would be a CATSA (Canadian Air Transport Security Authority) designation. It is not clear how much that would cost, or how long it would take to get.
“We’re looking at what we would need in terms of space to house screening equipment for people and baggage. How much that would cost, how long it would take to get the designation and then ultimately what the likely community economic benefits are and whether those benefits justify the investment,” explained Hastings.
Requirements and economic impact
Consultant InterVistas, which specializes in aviation matters, has been hired by Explorers’ Edge, the lead on the pilot project, to answer those very questions. Explorers’ Edge is contributing $20,000 towards the study, with another $20,000 being contributed by the District Municipality of Muskoka and $2,000 by the Town of Gravenhurst.
The undertaking would initially aim primarily at bringing more American tourists to the area, especially given the low Canadian dollar. The idea, for example, is that flights from the United States would go into Toronto, where customs clearance would occur, and then they would be routed to Muskoka’s airport in Gravenhurst.
A meeting was held with potential stakeholders. “The consultations that we conducted last week revealed that resorts would benefit, restaurants, retail stores, gas stations, transportation companies…,” said Hastings.
The study by InterVistas is expected to be completed in early June, at which time District Council, Explorers’ Edge and the Town of Gravenhurst will have to decide whether there’s merit in the pilot and whether they’re prepared to make the economic investments required to make a go of it along with support from the private sector, said Hastings. “I think it is exciting, we just need to make sure that the benefit is worth the investment. That’s going to be the question at the end of the day.”
There’s merit in further investigation, says Huntsville Mayor
Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison referred to the initiative as a great idea that merits further investigation. “I think that there’s been some excitement around this concept in part because a similar type of experiment that Porter (airlines) did in Mont-Tremblant and how much of a success that’s become.”
Aitchison said it has the potential to bring more people to the area and that’s good for the economy.
I think what they’re trying to determine is… who would be the biggest beneficiary. There’s no question that everybody sees that resorts and tourists and businesses that provide services to tourists would be the biggest beneficiaries but they’ve also been asking questions about how will it benefit locals too. Are there local people who would use the service to fly back and forth to Toronto or fly from Muskoka to any one of Porter’s destinations? So instead of driving all the way to Toronto, maybe hopping on a plane in Gravenhurst and flying through Toronto to Boston or something like that. Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison
He said if it is done right and done in concert with marketing efforts it could be “a real win.”
He said while the biggest winners, in terms of municipalities, may be Gravenhurst, Muskoka Lakes and Bracebridge, “that’s not to say it is not a wise investment to make for the District.”
He said pooling resources to make sure all of Muskoka’s municipalities do well is important. “The fact of the matter is the health of Bracebridge and Gravenhurst is important for the health of Huntsville. If they are struggling and everything is closing down, who is paying the freight then? It falls on the taxpayer of Huntsville. We need everyone to be successful. We just need to be more successful in Huntsville that’s all,” he joked.
Mayor of Lake of Bays is not convinced
Others are a little more hesitant. Lake of Bays Mayor Bob Young is concerned with Porter’s economic health and he questions who wants the service. While larger resorts may have beds to spare, he questions the benefits the pilot would have for smaller resorts. “Could you see some of the other smaller, one of our local resorts giving up one of their rooms to put on a package that may or may not sell? I just think that would be a huge risk for them.”
He also said the airport does not generate a lot of benefits for the Township of Lake of Bays. “We don’t get any jobs, we don’t get any supplying of good and services, that all goes to the two towns, Gravenhurst and Bracebridge. I think they should be the focus of this and that the District of Muskoka shouldn’t be going on the hook for what’s going to be hundreds of thousands of dollars to do a trial,” he argued. “The airport is already losing basically $1.1 million a year. I just think that’s an unrealistic burden especially when the townships are paying two-thirds of the cost.”
Young said in his mind the airport should be a municipal entity belonging solely to Bracebridge and Gravenhurst.
It’s part of our original premise that this should be the greater airport of Gravenhurst and Bracebridge. Gravenhurst even gets all the property taxes of the building, they don’t share that but they’re happy to share the cost. Lake of Bays Mayor Bob Young
While he would not discard the idea entirely, he said he’s still not convinced. “I’d like to see what’s the market and what are the costs and then we can do a risk analysis on ever recovering those marketing dollars,” he said.
“I admire the enthusiasm, the innovation and the thinking that people put into this so it’s hard for me to sit back and be the pessimist but you know I think realism is needed. When is enough of pouring money into this sinkhole like the airport,” questioned Young.” At the moment it’s an asset that’s mostly enjoyed by the private pilot.”
Don’t miss out on Doppler! Sign up for our free, twice-weekly newsletter here.
I believe the broader vision is to see flights coming in from northern border states as well. I certainly agree that the loss of our train service has been a blow, but the service itself was so intermittent and unreliable – it’s a real shame indeed.
Trains were & are the best way to move people from the short distance of Muskoka to Toronto. With billions of infrastructure dollars Canada is talking about, an upgrade of the present rail system (with the kind cooperation of CN of course) would be a much wiser maneuver.
I am fairly confident in the success of the south-north flights. I believe that for the overall concept to be workable, some imagination must be devoted to the north-south flights. How many of us endure the painful drive to Toronto; park at the top of the subway line; and proceed to our destination? What is required is attractively-priced packages; with return flight and shuttle bus to show, concert, sporting event, etc. (with or without overnight accommodation). For individuals who make the trip several times a year, an annual (or even lifetime) pass could be considered.
Empty, or half-full planes returning to Toronto will doom this venture before it even gets off the ground: pun intended.
Sounds promising. Unfortunately with the cancellation of the train service that was wheelchair accessible (had purchased wheelchair lifts ar each station in Muskoka and had retrofitted their trains for wheelchairs) it is unfortunate that all pilot projects for transportation in the District of Muskoka have not taken wheelchair access into consideration. We do have the Northland bus service that provides accessible transportation but one must call to book the one bus that has the lift. I suppose beggars cannot be choosers.
You will all age one day and will ask “why the hell not?”.
Fantastic idea!! With US destinations tied to Billy Bishop this opens a lot of possibilities. Let’s move it forward.
Maybe we could even get the provincial government to re-look at rail service to the North. Their push for us to use public transportation rings hollow with no real option available!!
I say why not with having commercial flights into Muskoka Airport… Would it not bring in income? You have that huge runway there and not that many flights in and out.