M.D. OF BONNYVILLE – Traffic is picking up at the Bonnyville Regional Airport, and the M.D. of Bonnyville wants to make sure its monitoring and enforcement tools keep pace.

Council gave first reading to Bylaw No. 1942 on August 11, which would amend the municipality’s Airport Bylaw to make it easier to enforce vehicle-related offences when the person behind the wheel can’t be identified.

The discussion started with a number that caught council’s attention: 31 commercial flights in one week.

“We are starting to see an increased amount of traffic coming into the airport,” administration told council. “Last week alone we had 31 commercial flights come in.”

The increase continues a trend the M.D. highlighted when it adopted its Airport Bylaw in June. At that time, council heard total flights had climbed from about 1,400 in 2021 to more than 1,900 in 2025. May 2026 alone recorded 159 flights, the highest May total since the M.D. took ownership.

When Peace Officers can’t be everywhere

The M.D.’s Airport Bylaw already regulates how people, vehicles and aircraft can operate on airport property.

The issue administration is trying to address now is what happens when a vehicle breaks those rules, but an enforcement officer can’t identify who was driving.

Community Peace Officers regularly patrol the airport, but, as administration told council, “it’s not possible to monitor the airport at all times to ensure compliance with the airport bylaw.”

The proposed amendment would clarify that the registered owner of a vehicle can be held responsible for a bylaw contravention when the driver isn’t identified, subject to any defence available under the law.

It would also explicitly allow an enforcement officer to issue a violation ticket to a registered owner when there are reasonable and probable grounds to believe the bylaw was contravened.

Administration noted that registered-owner enforcement is already common practice under Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act.

Cameras could become another set of eyes

The other piece is increased monitoring.

The M.D. is looking at installing cameras in strategic locations around the airport, giving enforcement officers another way to determine what happened when they aren’t physically on site.

“By installing cameras in strategic locations and updating the bylaw to enhance enforcement capabilities, administration anticipates improving monitoring, increasing compliance and better overall enforcement outcomes,” council heard.

Signage would also be updated to let people know movement throughout the airport is subject to continuous monitoring.

It’s part of a broader effort by the M.D. to tighten up airport security as use of the facility grows. Earlier airport planning has also included security fencing, gates and cameras as potential improvements aimed at increasing safety and securing airport property.

First reading clears the way for more discussion

Council gave Bylaw No. 1942 first reading.

That means the changes are not yet in effect. The amendment still requires second and third readings before it becomes part of the Airport Bylaw.

The original Airport Bylaw was adopted in June to create a formal framework around airport operations as activity at the facility increased.

Now, just a couple of months later, the M.D. is fine-tuning those rules.

With commercial traffic increasing and more activity happening on the ground, the goal is straightforward: make sure the rules at the Bonnyville Regional Airport can actually be enforced, even when a Peace Officer isn’t there to see the violation happen.