Thunder Bay International Airport making upgrades
Thunder Bay’s airport will begin installing new check-in counters on Monday.
Work on the new counters will happen overnight and is expected to take approximately two months.
Once the new counters are ready, the airport will begin upgrading the technology used at its counters, replacing it with new common-use technology.
“We recognize space availability wasn’t the best for any new entrants coming to Thunder Bay,” says Jackie MacDonald, Director of Business Development and Revenue Management for the airport.
MacDonald is referring to new airlines, rather than passengers: the airport’s old technology required pairing individual airlines with their own check-in spaces in the airport, creating an inflexible model with little room for new carriers.
The new common-use technology should be installed by February 2026. Once added, MacDonald believes the airport will be more attractive to new carriers.
“With common-use technology, it’s kind of like any carrier can flex up or down in their operation,” MacDonald explains.
MacDonald also believes that with the new technology, passengers will be processed more efficiently, hopefully producing shorter wait times.
Upgrading check-in counters and systems has been an objective of the airport since before the pandemic.
The upgrades were finally brought about thanks in part to a $100,000 investment from the Tourism and Development Fund of Thunder Bay’s Community Economic Development Commission.
As part of the upgrades, the new check-in counters will feature Indigenous artwork produced by Open Mind Interiors and their sister company Minwabi Interiors.
“We really wanted to reflect the character and the warmth of northwestern Ontario,” MacDonald says.
Smaller upgrades are also being worked on, including the airport’s first accessible check-in counter for mobility aid and wheelchair users, which will be lower to the ground.
