There is a lot of room to grow at Kelowna International Airport (YLW) and a major investment announced Monday is set to start unlocking it.
The federal government is providing up to $22.4 million for infrastructure that will open up 165 acres of airport land for industrial and aerospace development.
The funding will help pay for the water, sewer, electrical, communications and stormwater infrastructure needed to service the site.
Philip Elchitz, director of operations and innovation at Kelowna International Airport, says YLW already has a significant economic footprint, supporting about 9,000 jobs and generating roughly $2 billion in annual economic output.
The airport expects that footprint to grow as the East Lands are developed.
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“If you add up the current and the future, we expect to go to 3 billion dollars in annual economic output per year and approximately 12,000 jobs per year, both direct and indirect.”
But the entire site will not be built out right away.
The first phase will service roughly one-third of the available land. That leaves two-thirds open for future investment.
Three aerospace companies, De Havilland Aircraft, Wildcat Helicopters and Fire Swarm, are already in talks with the airport about opportunities on the site.
For Wildcat Helicopters, a larger footprint could mean expanding its operations and workforce.
“Oh, absolutely. We’ll be hiring more people. Yeah, there’s no doubt about it,” says Mike Michaud, President, Wildcat Helicopters
The expansion is also being matched by investments in training.
Okanagan College’s new aerospace facility is expected to open in 2027. The college currently trains about 64 aircraft maintenance engineers, a number expected to rise to 144 once the new facility opens.
Most of the new infrastructure will be built on the east side of the runway. The airport says construction is expected to begin next spring, with the work scheduled to wrap up by the end of 2028.
For now, much of that side of the airport remains open space.
The plan is to turn it into a growing aerospace hub, with new taxiways, hangars, offices, companies and, ultimately, more people working at YLW.
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