More needs to be done to improve and maintain Saskatchewan’s airports, the president of the Humboldt Flying Club says.

 

“They've been forgotten about and they’re just falling apart, literally, is what’s happening,” Blair Thiemann said.

 

The club reformed a year and a half ago after having shut down in the 1990s. They’re pilots and plane owners who volunteer their time to maintain the Humboldt airport.

 

The airport is functional and usable but needs a long-term plan to stay operational, he said.

 

It creates an economic spin-off for Humboldt and local RMs, as it’s a hub for crop sprayers, and is a landing area and refueling spot for STARS and Saskatchewan Air Ambulance.

 

The Humboldt Broncos tragedy shows the importance of maintaining airports - as devastating as it was, the outcome would have been worse had medevac planes and STARS helicopters not had a runway or a place to refuel in Nipawin and Tisdale, Thiemann said.

 

“Humboldt is positioned in a place where we have to be able to reciprocate that type of response.”

 

The club is working with City Hall to develop a plan, he said.