[Bigtime]

New international terminal to serve as Calgary's gateway to the world

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“I’m convinced you’ll see a few more Asian points,” Garth Atkinson, CEO of the Calgary Airport Authority, said in an interview. “Hong Kong, as well as Seoul, South Korea, are great connecting points and hubs we’ll want to tie into.

“I also see more in Europe — Paris would be great, we may start to see that on a seasonal basis in a couple of years, and probably another point in Germany as well.”

Bill Devlin, senior director of airport development with Air Canada, said his airline has been growing aggressively across its entire network in recent years, launching its low-cost leisure carrier Rouge as well as taking on new wide-body aircraft and adding new international destinations.

“We’re always looking at how we may be able to expand our reach from Calgary,” said Devlin. “That’s an ongoing process, and we’re in constant dialogue with the Calgary Airport Authority.

“But without these enhancements, it would be almost impossible to look at growing the network . . . We now have the foundation for building the network in Calgary … once we evaluate the market.”

“The gem of this airport is it makes the transfer of international passengers and trans-border passengers so much easier,” said Louis Saint-Cyr, WestJet’s vice-president of airports and guest experience. “We saw this year, with our 767 traffic, guests coming from all over the place . . . So the potential is fabulous, and it really opens the door.”