Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2024

The Kelowna Airport YMCA Child Care Facility opened on airport grounds in fall 2023, serving both airport employees and the public with 86 spaces available for children from infancy to 5 years of age. Also in fall 2023 Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) opened its own childcare center, encompassing about 5,300 square feet of unused space in the terminal that formerly housed commuter gates. The center is operated by the airport’s partner, La Petite Academy, one of the country’s largest educational daycare companies. “With room for about 60 children from infancy to pre-K, it allows workers at the airport—and not just airport authority staff, but people who work across the airport campus, such as those in concessions and construction—to essentially take their children to the office every day and avoid the extra time and driving required to use offsite care,” notes Lisa Naylor, PIT’s executive vice president and chief human capital officer. “The center is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. during the week, but we hope to eventually increase that to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as we’re a 24/7 facility. Costs are about 10 percent below market rate, and the center accepts state subsidies for those who qualify.” YLW and PIT aren’t alone in this commitment to assist parents who work for the airport. Numerous airports provide childcare assistance, among other amenities, to enhance employees’ work experiences. And in the especially turbulent labor market of the moment, perks like these are proving more important than ever in encouraging current employees to stick with their jobs, as well as attracting new talent to the aviation industry. Community Care Naylor says that the idea for PIT’s childcare center dates back to before the COVID-19 pandemic, but that it became especially relevant after. “When the pandemic happened, both working men and women were affected, but when the world began to return to normal women were not returning to the workforce at the same rate as men,” she points out. “Key to that trend was the fact that between 20 to 30 percent of childcare capacity disappeared during the pandemic. Our

childcare center is a step toward bringing women back into the workforce and supports our overall vision for workforce development.” Naylor adds that turnover and vacancy rates at PIT have both decreased over the past year. Samaddar similarly points out that providing access to affordable childcare is about removing barriers, adding that it “encourages diversity in the aviation trade and sector workforce.” Employee response to the new center at YLW has been very positive. “The opening of the childcare facility has allowed my wife to return to the work force, prior to it opening we didn’t have any other childcare options,” an employee named Parth noted at the opening event for the facility. Another employee, Bryana, said, “The childcare facility has provided ease of access to quality care for my three children, enabling me to continue my career in aviation.” San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has had a childcare program for airport employees since 1993. The program entails the airport providing subsidies for a daycare center, called PalCare, located near the airport. SFO makes payments to the daycare center to reserve 100 spots for airport employees, which immediately

Above: Pittsburgh International Airport recently opened a childcare center, La Petite Academy, encompassing about 5,300 square feet of unused space in the terminal that formerly housed commuter gates. The center is currently open 12 hours a day during the week, with plans to eventually increase that to 24/7 to better serve employees and their children.

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2024