New manager hoping to see possibilities soar at airport

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

The spider plant on the table in Jeffrey Monroe’s office looks like it’s seen better days.

But Monroe hasn’t given up on ¬the plant – known for its ability to cleanse the air – and the new manager of the Yarmouth airport says people shouldn’t give up on the airport either, which he feels has the ability to thrive.

“This was a vibrant airport at one time and there is no question that there’s a lot of demand for transit back and forth between this area and Halifax, and potentially into the United States,” says Monroe.

“We have identified five candidate airlines for service and we already know that there is a group of businesses around the Yarmouth area that we’re going to be touching base with…to talk about what their demand is,” he added in an recent interview, sounding confident that things may fly, or even land, soon.

If you listen to the talk on the street, that’s the direction things seem to be heading in, with rumours flying about air service starting up in the next few weeks.

Monroe says as part of the process to return air service to the Yarmouth airport, they’ve done a “very comprehensive study,” in which the folks at the Halifax airport have been very helpful with.

“We think that we can see, once we get the service going, at least a minimum of three days a week, round-trip service at a reasonable cost and hopefully expand it from there,” he says.

Monroe knows a thing or two about how to get from here to there. He’s been involved in transportation for over 30 years, having recently retired from his position as director with the City of Portland’s Department of Transportation. Monroe, who holds a masters degree in transportation management, has been involved with ferry traffic, the Portland International Jetport airport and ports. He’s been assisting the Port of Yarmouth in its process to develop a master plan. He’s even been a sea captain in a past life.

And now that he’s commuting between his home and the airport, he knows a thing or two about how hard it can be to get from Point A to Point B, particularly when one of those points is Yarmouth.

“The reality in all of this is anyway you look at it, southwestern Nova Scotia is immensely dependent on transportation,” says Monroe. “And all of the things that the port is thinking about and the airport is thinking about, as well as tourism, if you don’t have a good transportation system in the area your lifeline is gone.”

Monroe says the airport is a good facility with good infrastructure, although he says it’s amazing how much it takes to maintain the property, particularly with a small staff of only seven full-time and contract employees. And he says there has been an immediate concern the airport has to address concerning the aging instrument landing system.

But Monroe says his overall goals are pretty straightforward, with air service development being the top one. Developing a management structure for the airport and seeing what other types of economical development can occur at the airport – both in the air and on the ground – round out the list.

For instance talk continues and fingers remain crossed that a manufacturing business will set up shop on the property.

“The reality is, if you get transportation systems firmed up in this area, it will only be the first of many things,” says Monroe. “But if you don’t have a good infrastructure system, it’s all going to be just wishful thinking.”