Canadian airports handled 156.7 million passengers in 2024, up 4.0% from the previous year and reaching 96.2% of 2019’s pre-pandemic level, according to new data released July 29 by Statistics Canada.
Passenger volumes rose at the country’s four busiest airports—Toronto Pearson (+4.3%), Vancouver (+3.8%), Montreal-Trudeau (+5.7%), and Calgary (+2.5%)—although growth was notably slower than the double-digit increases seen in 2023.
Transborder and international air travel drove much of the increase, with traffic between Canada and the U.S. rising 10.4%, and other international traffic up 8.1%.
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Domestic travel remained largely flat, with a marginal 0.1% increase year-over-year.
The rise in international traffic was supported by new or reinstated routes and increased capacity by Canadian carriers, even as the sector faced challenges including inflation, pilot shortages, aircraft delivery delays, geopolitical tensions, and wildfires.
While transborder volumes were up in 2024 overall, the trend appears to be shifting.
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“Data from 2025 on monthly screened passengers at the eight largest Canadian airports indicate that transborder screened passenger volumes have fallen every month, on a year-over-year basis, since February,” the agency reported.
Statistics Canada’s full dataset is available through its new Aviation Data Visualization Hub, offering a look at traffic volumes and trends.
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