As more and more airlines chose to offer direct flights out of Windsor's airport, the mayor admits an expansion may eventually be in order.
Just recently, the international airport began offering seasonal direct flights to Orlando, Florida, Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Cancun Mexico. Director of operations Steve Toffin says 252,000 people flew out of Windsor last year, an increase of 5% from 2013. The number of passengers is expected to increase another 6% in 2016.
Mayor Drew Dilkens says there comes a point where not expanding the facility could hurt business.
"We don't want to be caught in the lurch, in the position of not being able to attract future routes or future airlines because we don't have the space."
Dilkens admits an expansion is still five or six years away.
"The board will go through a planning exercise and determine what the needs are," he says. "Find the money and make sure we allocate the capital dollars to make sure the Windsor airport can continue to grow."
Meanwhile, Dilkens says the airport stopped receiving the monthly operating fee from the City of Windsor and for the first time, paid a $1-million dividend to the city.
