by Jen Mallia
Last updated: 10:00 AM ET, Thu November 27, 2025
For the first time in 2025, September air passenger traffic showed a significant increase over the previous year. Despite the downward trend in transborder traffic to and from the United States, numbers released by Statistics Canada show that overall passenger numbers and aircraft movements have risen over what they were in 2024.
Canadian Level 1 airlines (which includes Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, Air Transat, Flair, Jazz, Porter and WestJet and WestJet Encore) carried 7.2 million passengers on scheduled and charter services in September, up 2.3% from September 2024.
Aircraft movements at Canada's major and select small airports totalled 548,386 in September 2025, up 5 percent over last year. According to StatsCan, an aircraft movement is defined as a “take-off, landing or simulated approach by an aircraft, as defined by NAV CANADA.”
Transborder Traffic
Aircraft movements to and from the U.S. declined 3.5% compared with September 2024. That’s the sixth consecutive monthly year-over-year decrease. In contrast, non-U.S. international movements climbed 6.4%.
The number of passengers travelling on scheduled Canadian Level 1 carriers on transborder flights fell by 15.2% year on year, the eighth month of decline. Capacity (measured in seat-kilometres) fell 12.6%.
A year-over-year fall in movements to and from the United States was recorded at all four of the largest Canadian airports: Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International (-2.3%), Vancouver International (-2.9%), Montréal/Pierre Elliot Trudeau International (-8.8%) and Calgary International (-7.6%).
By the numbers: Canadian air travel in September
- The number of passenger-kilometres rose 3.3% to 20.6 billion.
- Each passenger travelled an average of 2,858 kilometres in September 2025, (up 1.0% from the same month a year earlier.)
- Capacity increased 3.9% to 25.0 billion available seat-kilometres.
- Level I carriers flew 190,000 hours (+3.8%) in September.
- Level 1 carriers generated $2.7 billion (+7.5%) in total operating revenue.
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