The Victoria Airport Authority (VAA) has just announced that it will be investing $19.4 million to expand the lower passenger departure lounge.

The entirety of the project is expected to take 27 months.

Nearly 2 million passengers travelled through the airport, making 2017 a record-breaking year.

Due to the strong passenger growth, the Victoria International Airport sees a need for expansion.

“The upsizing of aircraft from 30-50 seat Dash-8’s to 76-80 seat Q400’s combined with passenger growth has driven the need to expand our lower passenger departures lounge," said VAA President and CEO, Geoff Dickson.

"The need to improve safety on the main aircraft apron and create efficiencies for passengers entering and exiting the passenger departure lounge, resulted in the airport recently completing an apron expansion that now accommodates the physical space required to expand the glass departure building north and eliminate the existing covered walkway."

The project will include doubling the size of the existing lower passenger departure lounge, providing dedicated aircraft gates and cover walkways, new washrooms as well as additional food, beverage and retail stores.

“These improvements will not only improve overall safety and operations but will also enhance the airport experience for our customers by providing additional seating, new accessibility considerations and enhanced concessions,” said Dickson.

The Officers of McFarlane Biggar (OMB) Architects in Vancouver have been selected to lead the design team. Durwest Construction Management (DCM), a Victoria-based company, will manage the project.

“We will do our best to minimize inconvenience, however, travellers will notice hoarding walls, temporary pathways to and from aircraft, and regular construction activities. We appreciate everyone’s patience during construction as we continue to improve the airport experience for our customers,” said Dickson.

Visit the Victoria International Airport website for more information.