(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

Air Canada is suspending flights which service the Kelowna and Kamloops Airports to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Flights into Kamloops from Calgary are suspended from March 23 to April 30. For flights arriving from Vancouver, the suspension begins on April 1 and will last until the end of the month.

For the Kelowna Airport, a suspension on flights arriving from Edmonton and Toronto will begin on March 23 and are set to be lifted on April 30. Dates for lifting suspensions are estimates.

The suspensions will add to the drastic decrease in traffic the Kamloops airport has already seen, according to Ed Ratuski, managing director at the Kamloops Airport.

“Over the last week it’s been drastically lower, 60 per cent lower. Everyday, as travellers are returning home or leaving Kamloops for the ski season, we’re seeing less and less each day,” Ratuski says.

As the number of passengers and flights decline, staff at the airport face altered schedules. Ratuski says some of the staff who can work from home are asked to do so, while all operational staff will remain to keep the airport running.

“Obviously without the scheduled passenger flights that we normally have, we’re working with our employee group to make the adjustments that we need to in terms of the staffing.”

As the travel restrictions and situation continues to change because of COVID-19, Ratuski say the airport will continue to adapt.

“We’re moving into the next phase of this operation, now we're looking at how we secure the facility and access to the facility but at the same time make sure passengers do have access to the services they may need in the terminal.”

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