Statistics Canada reports that Canada's major and select small airports recorded a total of 317,569 aircraft movements in January, down 5.9% from January 2023.

The Federal Agency says local movements fell 15.7% year over year to 79,012, while itinerant movements declined 2.1% to 238,557.

There were fewer local movements year over year in most provinces and territories across the country, with the largest declines reported in British Columbia and Alberta. In British Columbia, Boundary Bay reported a drop of 51.5% in local movements, while those in Abbotsford were down 24.7%. Similarly, in Alberta, Edmonton/Villeneuve had 50.8% fewer local movements, while Calgary/Springbank decreased 21.6%. Reduced flight school activity accounted for most of the decline in movements at these airports.

Transborder movements to and from the United States were up 3.3% to 32,133 in January. There was a notable gain reported at Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International (+58.3%), primarily from the addition of commercial passenger flights to several US destinations.

Other international traffic (outside the United States) was up 14.7% year over year, reaching 18,646 movements, and remains above the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level. As indicated by the release "Screened passenger traffic at Canadian airports," the number of passengers screened for international flights also increased in January.

Domestic movements declined 4.4% to 187,778 in January, with much of the decrease attributable to private and smaller operators not classified as Level I to III or foreign carriers.

 

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