Regional Air Transportation Initiative (RATI) in the Prairie provinces

The Regional Air Transportation Initiative (RATI) was a $206 million national initiative that aimed to help regional air transportation ecosystems affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. It supported regional and local air carriers and airports that are critical regional transportation hubs or fill essential service gaps in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. This support enabled the air transportation system across the Prairie provinces to remain operational through these difficult times and continue to support the economic growth of our communities.

On this page

• How and when to apply
• Eligible applicants
• Eligible activities could include
• Contact us
• Additional context

How and when to apply

• Current status of applicant period:  Closed
• The application period for the RATI initiative is now closed. Priority was provided to applications submitted by April 30, 2021.
• The initiative ended on March 2022.

Eligible applicants

• regional and local airports
• regional and local air carriers
• businesses, cooperatives, business groups, not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) and public institutions that are part of the regional air transportation ecosystem

Eligible activities could include

• design and implementation of solutions or enhanced services to restore regional air transportation connectivity
• projects that support the reinstatement or addition of air routes to communities directly impacted by route suspensions
• operating costs and maintenance expenses related to restoring or enhancing air services

Note that activities not supported under the RATI include compensation for revenue losses, refinancing of an existing debt, the purchase of an airplane, and airplane fuel.

Contact us

Contact us for any questions on this initiative.

Additional context

This 2-year national initiative was delivered by Canada’s 7 regional development agencies (RDAs). The RATI was in addition to the measures in Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan and complemented measures implemented by Transport Canada to support the air transportation sector.

The objective of the initiative is to contribute to the economic development of a community through the maintenance, restoration or addition of regional air service, and the increase in air passenger volumes.