Deserted by Quebec tourists because of the pandemic, the airports of Plattsburgh and Burlington have been quick to review the “I remember” license plates since the lifting of restrictions at the Canada-US border. Both places expect to quickly regain their former status with travelers here.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
A round trip to Florida for about US$175 or elsewhere in the United States for a few hundred dollars; the option of driving a hundred kilometers in order to fly south of the border already seems to be attractive again.
“We see a lot of Quebec license plates,” says Kristy Kennedy, spokesperson for the Plattsburgh airport. Airlines have seen an uptick in ticket purchases. There is less mistrust than we expected. »
Since 1er last April, the requirement to present a negative COVID-19 test was lifted at the land border between Canada and the United States.
Justin Bordeleau, co-owner and vice-president of Voyages Arc-en-ciel, however, advises these travelers to carefully check the legislation in the countries where they will land in order to avoid unpleasant surprises.
We know that there are some travellers, mainly people who are not adequately vaccinated, who prefer departures from the United States because they are unable to board a plane in Canada.
Justin Bordeleau, co-owner and vice-president of Voyages Arc-en-ciel
Before the pandemic, Canadian tourists bought 80% of the tickets offered in Plattsburgh, according to Mme Kennedy. She expects to see the airport reconnect with this threshold next year, even if the price of gasoline could discourage some tourists.
From there, Allegiant serves Florida and United Airlines offers flights to Washington International Airport. A third carrier, whose identity has not yet been revealed, should soon establish itself in Plattsburgh, according to its spokesperson, which should improve the offer.
Reconnect with Quebec
Burlington Airport is less dependent on foreign customers. Despite everything, that of the outside represented approximately 25% of the pre-pandemic volume of 1.4 million travelers recorded in 2019, explains Nic Longo, director of facilities.
We are currently at 80% of what was observed before the health crisis. For Canadians, we have just crossed the 10% mark. We are slowly approaching our target of yesteryear.
Nic Longo, Plattsburgh Airport Facilities Manager
Burlington will also welcome a new carrier — low-cost carrier Sun Country Airlines — next month.
To win back customers here, the airport has relaunched its advertising offensive in French, broadcast in particular on the radio station 98.5 FM, owned by Cogeco. Mr. Longo adds that the airport has also decided not to touch the daily rate (US$12) for parking.
“Our airport fees have not changed,” he says. We really want to welcome back our neighbors to the north. »
Plattsburgh and Burlington do not see themselves as competitors to Quebec airports. They believe they represent an alternative option for travelers looking for low-cost flights to the United States. Mr. Longo believes that Montréal-Trudeau is a “tremendous international platform” with international destinations not found on the other side of the border.