Campbell River Airport Reopens on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. 

Pacific Coastal Airlines will be providing flights to Vancouver, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

A notice on Pacific’s website states, “It’s important to note that we will not be returning to ‘normal operations’ as we will be offering a reduced schedule with many enhanced safety practices to ensure the health and well-being of our customers, staff and the communities that we serve. Our intention is to help provide air service for essential service workers, move important goods and cargo, provide access for customers who need to travel for various medical appointments (unrelated to COVID-19) and continue to offer remote communities access to the essential service of air travel should they require it.”

Physical Distancing In The Terminal

A City of Campbell River press release states: “To ensure appropriate physical distancing in the terminal building, access will be restricted to passengers and staff. Also, until further notice, all passengers must wear a face mask when entering the security screening area and during the flight.”

“There are no changes to curbside passenger drop off, or parking in designated areas, where passengers can still be met outside in front of the terminal building.”

Gradually Resume Regular Service

“Campbell River’s airport provides a vital connection for essential medical and business travel. To be able to gradually resume regular service, is a testament to the fact that we have kept the number of COVID-19 cases low,” said Mayor Andy Adams. 

“COVID-19 circumstances and updates continue to occur frequently at this time, and we wish to assure the traveling public that the City of Campbell River is monitoring and adjusting where necessary, with public and employee safety as our top priority,” adds city manager Deborah Sargent.

Pacific Coastal Airlines

There was no one available at Pacific Coastal Airlines to comment. 

The airline suspended operations, due to the COVID 19 outbreak, on March 25, 2020. 

A recorded message said their customer service support is continuing at reduced capacity, but they have yet to answer my email or phone call. 

According to Wikipedia, Pacific Coastal Airlines connects Campbell River to Vancouver, Comox and Bella Bella.

While there were no scheduled flights to Comox or Bella Bella, Pacific’s  website lists two flights from Campbell River to the Vancouver Airport’s South Terminal on June 2. 

• 8:50 AM departure – Flight 8P701 – arrives 10 AM
• 5:05 PM departure – Flight 8P715 – arrives 6:15

There are also two flights from Vancouver to Campbell River 

• 7:45 AM departure – Flight 8P701 – arrives 8:30 AM
• 4:00 PM departure – Flight 8P715 – arrives 4:45 PM 

Central Mountain Air Not Serving Campbell River This Travel Period

Correction: A previous notice on the Central Mountain Air website stated they are resuming service on Monday, June 8, 2020. Going to their booking page, I found there were three flights leaving Campbell River that day.

This has changed. The airlines launch date is now July 6^th and Campbell River is not on the list of destinations for the travel period July 6, 2020 to August 8, 2020, 

Top photo credit: C-GIPC YVR, Pacific Coastal Airlines by Eric Salard via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)