Region of Waterloo Airport reveals growth plan for next 20 years
Posted Sep 9, 2025 07:07:30 AM.
Last Updated Sep 9, 2025 03:02:37 PM.
The local airport in Breslau will be looking to the future as it maps out how to grow over the next two decades, despite seeing a drop in the number of passengers.
The Region of Waterloo International Airport is expected to see around 425,000 passengers this year, a drop of around 100,000 compared to last year. In 2024, the airport saw 523,210 passengers come through its terminal.
According to Chris Wood, the director of the Region of Waterloo Airport, this is mostly coming from Flair Airlines eliminating all international flights at the airport, including ones to the U.S. He said, despite the drop, the number of passengers is expected to be the third best year ever.
“With the downturn in the U.S. travel by Canadians, I think that really affected all airlines and Flair was no exception,” said Wood. “But we’re still very strong the domestic services from Vancouver to Halifax.
A draft plan for growth over the next 20 years would look at expanding two runways and a new passenger terminal. A report notes that the current plan is out of date.
Wood said some of the successes from the previous growth plan was bringing in Flair Airlines back in 2021 and expanding its terminal building. He notes that passenger targets would need to be hit in order to start expansion projects.
“That was an example of how our old growth plan worked, where we had everything ready to go and then signed the deal with Flair and then built it,” said Wood. “We will build when they come, not build it and they will come.”
The cost of the growth plan would be around $616 million. The report said around two-thirds of the costs are expected to be funded by the provincial and federal governments and private sector partnerships.
The airport has seen significant growth since 2019, when it saw 77,000 passengers. This year also marked the 75th anniversary of the airport in the region.
The plan will be presented to regional councillors during the Sustainability, Infrastructure, and Development Committee meeting starting at 1 p.m.
