By Bruce Constantineau

More than 3,000 jobs have been created at Vancouver International Airport in the past three years, bringing total employment to 26,053, an airport authority report shows.

The report, prepared by Intervistas Consulting and released Wednesday, notes there are more than 350 businesses on Sea Island and the authority itself only employs 284 people. About 53 per cent of jobs are with airlines.

Other direct jobs include people who work for catering companies, air-freight forwarders and government agencies. The report cited several factors that contributed to strong job creation at the airport, including:

• continuing expansion of the international terminal and the 400-room Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel in 1999 and 2000.
• growth in airline service due to the Open Skies agreement between Canada and the U.S., resulting in the number of non-stop routes between Vancouver and the U.S. growing from eight in 1994 to 22 last year.
• sustained growth in cargo.
• commitments by Canadian and foreign carriers to build Vancouver as a premier air gateway.

The report said employment at the airport ranks higher than the B.C. mining and fishing industries combined and represents about $1 billion in annual wages. It said airport jobs average $44,000 a year, 26-per-cent higher than the provincial average.

The annual economic impact of the airport is estimated at $5.2 billion and the report said 1,200 jobs are generated for every extra one million passengers that use the airport every year.

Authority president Larry Berg said the airport affects lives and business right across B.C.

"Building better connections and keeping YVR competitive are essential if we're going to maintain and build on our economic impact numbers," he said.