Wiarton Keppel Airport now has a new commuter service to make those long road-trips to Toronto from Grey and Bruce Counties a thing of the past.
On Friday May 24th, dignitaries including Federal MP Larry Miller and Provincial MPP Bill Walker, local Mayor and Councilors, airline executives and first-time passengers, gathered at the airport where the launch of the first Wiarton-to-Toronto flight took place with FLYGTA airline (www.flygta.com).
Instead of a three-hour drive, the Piper Panther flight will take passengers to Toronto’s central Billy Bishop Airiport in 40 minutes.
For those flying into Wiarton, transportation can be arranged through Thrifty’s Car Rentals in Owen Sound to have a car waiting at the airport.
Mayor of Georgian Bluffs, Dwight Burley, said that it was an exciting day for Grey-Bruce. “The airport has been commercially idle for too many years. Now we have connectivity to large urban centres and new options for opening up tourism. This is the first step in proving to the region that the airport is vital to the sustainability of the region when it comes to business and tourism.”
FLYGTA CEO, Chris Nowrouzi, agreed that it was an exciting time. “It’s been tremendous
working with the local municipality. It’s very important for our organization and Southern Ontario to provide connectivity. We are initiating several packages internationally that will also hopefully increase tourism in this region because you have a real gem here.
To begin however, we are flying Friday through Monday from Wiarton to Toronto and we have to see what the demand is for further scheduling and, particularly in the winter months.”
Among the first passengers on the inaugural flight was MP Larry Miller and his wife, Darlene. “This is terrific to think that we can be in Toronto in 35 to 40 minutes without the aggravation of traffic.”
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Another passenger who lives in Sauble Beach but works in Ottawa, says that he has been waiting for this service for over two years. “This is going to make an incredible difference. I can now connect in Toronto to continue on to Ottawa instead of spending seven or more hours driving.”
Artist Joan Irvine and husband Steve, were also among the eight inaugural passengers. “We are celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary and thought what better way than to fly to Toronto for a couple of days, which we would not have been able to do until today.”
