Nancy Paish, CEO, presents at the Red Deer Regional Airport's Annual Public Meeting. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

GOALS FOR 2025 AND BEYOND

Red Deer Regional Airport ready to see developments take off

May 1, 2025 | 4:19 PM

The Red Deer Regional Airport is refusing to land, building on its momentum from the last few years to continue developing the area, pursuing unique partnerships to support the industry, and trying to secure customs support for international flights.

On April 30, community members were invited to the airport’s Annual Public Meeting, which included an overview of the progress made in the airport expansion project, the financial report for 2024 and the 2025 Strategic Plan.

Phase three of the airport expansion project is well underway and anticipated to be completed by spring 2026. This phase includes extending Airport Drive north toward Township Road 374, then curving it west to C&E Trail to improve access to the nearly 200 acres of air-side land that has yet to be developed.

Nancy Paish, CEO, said she’s in the process of finding an anchor tenant for that space, such as maintenance or manufacturing facilities, and cargo services.

Across the road from this parcel is another 50 acres, which Paish said will be suitable for commercial ground-side development like warehousing, transportation logistics and more.

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The airport also owns a 60 acre section of lowlands that have limited access and would be difficult to develop. That land may get utilized for a solar collection facility, which the airport would receive lease revenue from if it were to be approved. The company seeking to use the land, Saturn Power, is in the midst of trying to secure development permits and certification, Paish said.

“People are looking at Red Deer. They’re looking at the opportunities that we have here between our land, our location and our cost effectiveness,” she commented. “We’re doing business different as an airport, and we have a lot of unique opportunities.”

Land, location and cost effectiveness are the three core values at the foundation of the 2025 Strategic Plan, which will inform its strategic effectiveness strategies and further goals.

When it comes to land, Paish explained that most airports, like Edmonton and Calgary, lease their land from the federal government, whereas the Red Deer Regional Airport owns its land.

Because of this. “We can be nimble and quick to make decisions, to be able to accommodate those that are coming in, so it’s a huge opportunity,” she said.

The airport is also unique in its no debt and low cost approach to managing its finances.

Paish explained, “We don’t have any debt. We did all of this expansion with no debt, which is significant as an airport that is unique across the country. What that allows us to do is remain cost effective, so we don’t have to charge back airport improvement fees or really high fees in order to service debt.”

Outside of the airport expansion’s current and potential future phases, Red Deer’s airport is pursuing unique partnerships with industries in the community to improve aviation in the region.

For example, Paish joined the Alberta Aviation and Aerospace Council as a board member in June 2024 and has since been elected as conference chair. Next week, she will help the council host the Alberta Aviation and Aerospace Defence Summit in Calgary. Paish was recently informed the event has sold out, with 500 attendees expected from across North America who will be looking to Alberta for aviation investment.

With a NATO conference happening in the city at the same time, 60 NATO delegates are also expected to attend.

“I say all of those things because it’s putting Red Deer in a space where we can have the right conversations with the right people,” said Paish.

Additionally, the airport is coordinating with Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) and other partners to start a Workforce Development Planning Committee to address an industry shortage of aircraft maintenance engineers (AME).

“Red Deer Polytechnic has a great structure that says if industry needs it, we’re going to answer the call,” she stated, adding that Alberta’s only AME program currently operates out of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and is overpopulated.

The Canadian Fire Rescue College, which recently began operating a program out of Springbrook, may also prove to be a potential partnership for the airport. Paish said the parties are exploring the idea of developing airport rescue firefighter (ARF) training, which would be the first of its kind in Canada.

When it comes to the airport’s larger goals to secure passenger services and increase charter flights, a piece of the puzzle that is unfortunately missing for now is customs services.

About one month ago, Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) denied the Red Deer Regional Airport’s application for customs services. Paish chalked this up to a regulatory barrier: the CBSA has a defined zone extending from their hubs that they will offer service within and our airport is past that threshold. Paish shared, it’s by a small enough amount that she hopes joint advocacy and continued efforts will encourage the CBSA to be accommodating.

Customs services unlock international flights, which will eventually be good to have for passenger services, but until then, could benefit charter and cargo flight numbers. Currently, chartered flights from corporations travelling to and from the U.S. need to stop in Edmonton or Calgary first for customs processing before they can come to Red Deer. In some cases, these clients may opt to drive the rest of the distance rather than fly right to the Red Deer Regional Airport.

In addition to outlining the various goals and projects in the works, airport board chair Iaian Park announced the end of his term. He will remain on the board as past chair and Casey Setters will step into the role instead.