Bought for 10 bucks, Abbotsford Airport surpasses million-passenger milestone

Twenty-three years after it wasbought for $10, the Abbotsford International Airport also known as YXX is celebrating a much bigger number: the million-passenger mark.

PatriciaLovattof Maple Ridge, B.C., was named the one millionth passenger after returning home on a flight from Edmonton.

"It's wonderful, absolutely wonderful," she said. "[Abbotsford Airport] is close to home and convenient for people who live from Maple Ridge to Chilliwack."

Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said the milestone will soon be doubled.

"It took us 23 years to get to a million.I think that we will hit two million within the next two to five years," he said.

Abbotsford bought the airport from the federal government for $10on Jan. 1, 1997, on the condition it remain an airfield.

The three original runwayswere builtduring the Second World Warand used to train pilots. Butby the 1990s, the 87-hectare site, owned by the Department of Transport, waslosing $200,000 ayear.

YXX currently serves no-frills airlines such as WestJet, Swoop, Flair and Air Canada Rougeand does not charge an airport improvement fee like most North American airports.

In the past two years it has seen passenger volumes increase by close to 25 per cent annually, supported by the addition of two new gates and a 14,000-square-foot expansion of the terminal.