by Sally MacDonald and Barry Coulter
Townsman Staff
Travellers will be able to get from Cranbrook to Kelowna in less than an hour starting next month.
On Friday, October 4, Pacific Coastal Airlines announced that it will launch a direct Cranbrook to Kelowna service starting on Monday, November 18.
The service will operate Sunday to Friday. It will depart Cranbrook at 3:10 p.m. MT and arrive in Kelowna at 3:25 p.m. PT. For the reverse trip, the aircraft leaves Kelowna at 3:25 p.m. PT, arriving in Cranbrook at 5:15 p.m. MT.
Before this route was announced, air travellers needed to fly from Cranbrook to Vancouver and then transfer to a flight to Kelowna, making for a much longer trip.
“This marks a significant advancement in air access, allowing strategic economic ties between the Thompson Okanagan and Kootenay Columbia Valleys to grow to new heights,” said Tristen Chernove, managing director of Canadian Rockies International Airport. “For the length of my time in the Kootenay Rockies region, Kelowna has remained one of the most requested flight destinations.”
Chernove said he was “ecstatic to see this new route get off the ground.”
The new route came about through a partnership between Pacific Coastal Airlines, Canadian Rockies International Airport, and Kelowna International Airport.