REGINA -- The Regina International Airport says it’s heading into a financial crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Regina Airport Authority held its annual meeting on Thursday morning in an empty terminal building. Only one flight was scheduled to leave the Queen City on Thursday.

The airport said it was already seeing a decline in passengers before the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a 4.7 per cent decline in airline passengers in 2019, resulting in a financial loss of around $750,000. This year, the airport expects that loss to be much higher.

The airport believes it will take about two years to return to previous passenger levels.