Located in the heart of the Northern British Columbia, YXT is the most reliable service in the Northwest by providing air services to Terrace, Kitimat and surrounding communities since 1947. Also known as the Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society we are an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit corporation. The Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society consists of seven directors and the employees of the Airport Society.
The Society consists of four organizations : The City of Terrace, Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce, the Regional District of Kitimat and the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce. As a not-for-profit corporation, the Airport Society has no shareholders and therefore no shareholder benefits. The airport’s operational costs and improvements are funded by their profits and funding. Operating surpluses are used to pay for airport capital improvement projects such as the purchase of heavy airside equipment (snow blowers, runway sweepers, etc.), the repaving of runway and extension of runway 15/33, improvements to the apron and taxiways and site preparation for the Instrument Landing System.
The federal Department of Transport through its Airport Capital Assistance Program provides funding assistance for these projects. The Canada BC Infrastructure Grant program provided funding assistance for 2/3 of the runway extension project in 2005. An expansion project to the airport terminal building was completed during 2006/2007.
History
The airport was built in 1943 by the Canadian Department as part of the defence network to defend the coast from hostile invasion of WWII and as part of the airport system used to ferry American aircraft to Alaska. In 1946 the airport was transferred to the Department of Transport and then exchanged ownership again in 1998 when the transfer of the ownership and operation of the airport was formed under the Society Act (British Columbia) from the federal Department of Transport.
The federal government had set out the National Airports Policy in 1994 to transfer the ownership and operation of the majority of Canadian airports to local communities. The exceptions were the major airports and large regional airports, over which the federal government-maintained ownership but entered into long-term leases (60 years with an option to renew for 20 years) with local Airport Authorities. Negotiations were completed and the Terrace-Kitimat airport transferred officially to the new formed Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society on March 30, 1999.
Staff and Directors
Staff
Carman Hendry
Airport General Manager
Jeff Hull
Manager of Airport Development
Sonya Gill
Manager of Airport Operations
Brandie Correia
Manager of Airport Terminal Services and Security
Ben Godden
Supervisor of Operations, Maintenance, Safety and Security
Natasha Babcock
Operations Administration Specialist/Person Responsible for Safety Management Systems
Breanna Cline
Administration Assistant
Jill Demedeiros
Administration Assistant
Joe Cordeiro
Mechanic
Taylor Patten
Electrician
Courtney Callahan
Airfield Operations Specialist, Foreman, Building & Systems Support
Dave Johnson
Airfield Operations Specialist
Tim Boyce
Airfield Operations Specialist
Alexander Hruby
Airfield Operations Specialist
Shawn Holtvluwer
Airfield Operations Specialist
Cory Hoff
Airfield Operations Specialist
Richard Murray
Airfield Operations Specialist
Jayden McCullogh
Airfield Operations Specialist
William Fisher
Airfield Operations Specialist
Directors
Paul Bjorn – President
Appointed by the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine
Joshua Papke – Vice President
Appointed by the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce
Julie San Juan – Secretary Treasurer
Appointed by the City of Terrace
Thom Meier – Director
Appointed by Kitimat Chamber of Commerce
Ron Burnett – Director
Director at Large
Debbie Oviatt – Director
Director at Large
Michael Doyle – Director
Director at Large