Funding
Kelowna International Airport (YLW) is the largest municipally owned and operated airport in Canada. YLW is owned by the City of Kelowna, however, it has zero impact on taxation as it is self-funded through user fees and charges.
YLW generates the money required to pay for services and infrastructure through several sources including the Airport Improvement Fee, as shown in the graph below.*
*The breakdown of revenues is based on YLW's 2022 audited financial statements.
Like many other airports, YLW earns revenues mainly through:
Each departing passenger pays a fee, which is collected by the airlines on behalf of YLW. The Airport Improvement Fee is used to fund capital projects to construct or improve airport infrastructure.
These capital projects help ensure YLW continues to meet the needs of the region now, and well into the future.
This includes revenues from parking, car rentals, leases, food and beverage sales, and advertising.
Landing fees are based on the weight of airplanes landing at YLW and are paid by the airlines. Landing fees help the airport recover the costs associated with operating and maintaining the airside infrastructure to ensure aircraft can continue to operate out of YLW.
Terminal fees are based on the number of seats on an airplane landing at YLW and are paid by the airlines. These fees help YLW to recover the costs associated with operating the terminal building.