Dear Editor:

This letter is written about the discussions relating to the possible closure of the  Osoyoos Airport.

My husband and I are avid aviators with aviation being our choice of lifestyle as opposed to summer RV’ing, winter vacations to Mexico, boat ownership, motorcycling or other recreational activities.

As such we devote our recreational time and a good portion of our incomes, towards supporting our aviation lifestyle.

The aviation community is not that different from those of other recreational pursuits.

Not unlike the many community clubs and associations devoted to RV’ing (Explorer RV Club, Good Sam RV Club, Happy Campers, Passport America, etc.), there are hundreds of clubs and numerous associations across Canada and the USA devoted to aviation.

We travel from one destination to the other to participate in fly-ins, fly-outs, camping, airshows, sightseeing and tourism pursuits, using the infrastructure of the 129 airports in B.C. and those beyond the provincial border.

We rent cars, we use taxi services, we eat at restaurants, we camp at campgrounds, we golf, we indulge in sightseeing and we stay in hotels.

The only difference between ourselves and any other tourist is how we arrive at our destination. Within the last two years we have spent most of our planned travel and vacation budgets and have often gone for Saturday or Sunday lunch visits to airport destinations in Tofino, Port Hardy, Prince George, Grand Forks, Fairmont, Penticton, Salmon Arm, Abbotsford, Merritt and Revelstoke.

You get the picture.

We did stop at Osoyoos  and it has been a priority destination of choice on our list for the past three years.

However, we did not stay and enjoy a meal, purchase accommodation or spend money within the city because we will not leave our plane unattended at an unsecure airport.

We have a significant amount of our life savings invested in our airplane and we are not about to jeopardize that at a remote location without secure fencing, at the very least.

The thing about being an aviator is that we meet many others within our community and it is a very tight, friendly and supportive community, from many other destinations.

The significant advantage of this lifestyle is that we can travel much further to a new destination in a single day trip, or weekend excursion, than can a tourist in a car.

And we like to share our “favourite places to fly” with each other, at our club meetings, at fly-Ins, and through the COPA National Members’ Places to Fly listing.

There is a lot of value to our “$100 hamburger” trips as we like to fly, like to visit new and favourite destinations, and like to tell each other about it. Heck, we even like to set up impromptu gatherings at various locations just because the sky is blue and winds are low.

So what is Osoyoos currently missing out on as far as economic impact with the existing airport infrastructure?

  • Visitors who come for lunch, who come for golf, who come to stay overnight.
  • Visitors who come to stay and need transportation – rental cars or taxis.
  • Visitors whose primary market profile is they want to come and spend money in your town.
  • Visitors who are educated, responsible, skilled and willing to spend their hard-earned disposable income on experiences, including drop-in meals and weekend excursions.
  • Visitors who will pay a reasonable fee for secure aircraft parking.
  • Visitors who may often need to re-fuel.
  • Visitors who might be looking for pre or post-border excursion layovers.
  • Visitors who bring tourism dollars to the benefit of your local businesses into your town.

From our perspective the airports are part of our necessary transportation infrastructure in Canada. Can you imagine suggesting that you are going to discontinue access to Osoyoos via Highway 97?

That makes about as much sense to us as shutting down your airport.

You may not think it would be missed because your town and council have not given us the opportunity to use it appropriately.

We ask you this. Would you please consider investing a small amount of resources to improving the airport so that you CAN and WILL attract our aviation community?

We will come to visit, spend money and enjoy the many wonderful aspects of Osoyoos as a tourist destination.

We will share our stories, encourage others within our community to visit and would even assist in the Osoyoos Airport Development Society to undertake a promotions campaign to let other aviators know that Osoyoos is open for our business.

We need you to at least make the airport as attractive to us as the destination community is.

Finally, please let us know what you need to be able to show you how beneficial the airport is to your

community.

We will gladly support the Osoyoos Airport Development Society so that we can one day come and visit, get out of our plane and spend time and money within your community.

At least give us a chance.

Thank you for allowing us to speak about this matter.

Pamela and Daryl Nelson

members and directors

Kelowna & District Flying Club