Regional Air Transportation Initiative

This national initiative has a total budget of $206 million over two years. It is being delivered by Canada’s six regional development agencies (RDAs), including the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, which has an allocation of $41.2 million. The RATI is in addition to the measures in Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan and complements measures to be implemented by Transport Canada to support the air transportation sector.

Eligible funding recipients

• regional and local air carriers
• regional and local airports
• businesses, cooperatives, business groups, non-profit organizations (NPOs) and public institutions that are part of the regional air transportation ecosystem

Examples of ineligible funding recipients

• air carriers with outstanding ticket refund issues
• carriers involved in ongoing negotiations with the Government of Canada

Eligible activities

• design and implementation of solutions for increased regional air transportation connectivity, to complement other federal measures and in particular those that Transport Canada is implementing
• development and implementation of enhanced services to support regional connectivity
• cash flow needs of regional and local airports
• adaptation and modernization measures to maintain and improve operations

Certain costs may be eligible retroactively to April 1, 2020.

Examples of ineligible activities

• compensation for revenue losses
• refinancing of an existing debt
• the purchase of an airplane
• airplane fuel

Financial support

Types of support

• Contributions to non-profit organizations are generally non-repayable.
• Contributions to small and medium enterprises are generally repayable or conditionally repayable, including a portion that could become non-repayable.
• Contributions to Indigenous funding recipients could be non-repayable.

Consult our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more.

Submitting an application

Applications submitted by April 30, 2021, will be prioritized.