Traveller costs must stay down in airport privatization plan: industry group
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
OTTAWA – As aviation leaders descend on Ottawa for a conference today, the head of the country’s main airline industry group says any plan for private investment in airports should keep a lid on costs for travellers.
Jeff Morrison, CEO of the National Airlines Council of Canada, says more details need to emerge about the federal government’s move to partially privatize airports before he adopts a firm stance, but that affordability is key.
Examples abroad offer mixed results, with Australia frequently cited by Ottawa after the country handed control of its airports to private investors between 1997 and 2003.
The move has resulted in billions of dollars in capital investment, yielding faster baggage handling and passenger check-in processes as well as more lounges.
However, the four biggest airports increased fees that are charged to carriers — and often passed on to customers — by 81 per cent in the decade leading up to 2015, according to Australia’s competition watchdog.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month he wants private investors to take over operations at Canada’s four largest airports, managing them for set lease periods while oversight and ownership would remain with the federal government.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2026.