Province announces $1.92M for charter bus, plane firms

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This article was published 14/12/2021 (1747 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Over the course of the pandemic, Joe Vodopivec has watched charter planes sit, unmoved for months, while their insurance bills roll in.

So, when the province announced a $1.92-million program to support bus and air charter transportation companies Monday, the president of the Manitoba Aviation Council felt some relief.

“We’re moving in a positive direction,” Vodopivec said. “(But) our industry has been hit so, so hard that we still have work to do.”

The new initiative will distribute cash to charter bus, tour bus and charter plane organizations who’ve had to halt or reduce operations during the pandemic. The amount of funding will vary based on the company’s size, Chuck Davidson, the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce’s president and CEO, said during a news conference.

“It’s not going to make up for all of the losses that they’ve gone through over the course of these past 21 months, but it will help them in their recovery,” he said.

The chamber will administer the funds, while the province is providing the money.

Roughly 70 per cent of charter plane trips stopped when the pandemic arrived, Vodopivec said. Northerners who’d fly to Winnipeg for medical appointments stayed home; some goods were in short supply, lessening the need for cargo trips.

“This whole time, our industry has seen very little or no support,” Vodopivec said. “(We’re) still recovering.”

Air traffic isn’t near what it was pre-pandemic, but it’s better than March of 2020, he said. About two-thirds of the industry’s personnel were laid off. Now, many are back, and there are open positions — some people retired, and others left the field.

“Full recovery, I can’t put a timeline on it,” Vodopivec said. “Things can change pretty quickly.”

Monday’s funding announcement was a needed one, according to John Fehr, the general manager of Beaver Bus Lines.

“We were hit very hard and just appreciate being recognized,” he said, adding the money will “definitely help.”

On Monday, leaders were still nailing down how much funding companies would receive, and what operations would be covered. Costs wouldn’t be covered if they could be claimed in another relief program.

“It’s been a real roller-coaster ride,” Fehr said.

Beaver Bus Lines, which shuttles school groups and sports teams, among others, has sold four buses during the pandemic. In March of 2020, it laid off between 65 and 70 people, though a “good portion” are now back, Fehr said.

“It’s pretty hard to believe we had to do that,” he said.

The company couldn’t continue its rides down south when the United States’s side of the border closed to non-essential travel for 19 months. The border reopened in November.

“(I’m) definitely hoping… things will get better,” he said.

Applications to the new program will be available in the coming weeks.

“We’re very proud to make sure there’s funding for these charter operators,” Economic Development and Jobs Minister Jon Reyes said.

Some charter bus and plane companies accessed pandemic-era relief programs, but it varied by business.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com