Gander airport considers reducing firefighters

Gander International Airport mayreducethe number offirefighters it employes to deal with a significant drop in revenue.

"We've had to make some tough decisions along the way and we'll continue to make them if they benefit the airport and seek to put us on a path to viability," said airport manager Gary Vey.

Vey says the airportrecently posted its best numbers in 30 years for civilian passengers, but military and commercial traffic is down significantly. He said that left revenues down by $1.6-million in 2012.

To deal with that, Vey said the airport has been considering offering early retirement packages to four firefighters. If that plan is approved by the board, the packages could be offered to the firefighters this summer.

That would mean the workforce at the airport, once one of the largest in the world, would drop to less than 40 employees.

A spokesperson for the union representing airport workers said they will wait for official notification before commenting.