LONGER RUNWAY ON AIRPORT'S RADAR

Like a traveller gazing skyward at an arriving airplane, things are looking up at Lake Simcoe Regional Airport.

A 2022 work plan, prepared by manager Mike Drumm for the airport board, details what lies ahead for the Oro-Medonte facility.

HERE ARE FIVE MAIN OBJECTIVES:

1. Support the return of Canada Border Services Agency services to prepandemic levels.

2. Continue working toward Transport Canada airport certification by 2023 or 2024. The airport is currently registered as an aerodrome.

3. Finish the final work on the runway-widening project, including upgraded line markings, by the end of the third quarter.

4. Complete preparatory work for extending the runway to 7,000 feet (2,134 metres) from its current length of 6,001 feet (1,829 metres). This would allow the largest intercontinental corporate jets to operate under most conditions.

5. Undertake a master servicing plan for unserviced commercial development areas. There have been discussions about a communal water/wastewater system to help attract private-sector investment.

In a separate report outlining 2021 activity, Drumm wrote the airport "continued to trend in a positive recovery mode" as the economy rebounds from COVID-19. Aircraft movements returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021 after a 40 per cent decrease in takeoffs and landings the previous year.