Halifax Stanfield International Airport, rebounding last year in relatively strong fashion from the pandemic, leapfrogged airfields serving the much bigger cities of Ottawa and Winnipeg in terms of passengers.
About 3.11 million passengers passed through Stanfield in 2022, and the airport jumped two places to rank sixth behind Toronto Pearson, Vancouver International, Montreal-Trudeau, Calgary International and Edmonton International. In 2022, Ottawa International served 3.03 million passengers and Winnipeg Richardson International 2.99 million.
As was the case with all major Canadian airports, the figures are lower than just before the pandemic and more in line with levels dating back decades.
The number of passengers using Ottawa International in 2022 dropped to the lowest since 1996, when 2.86 million passengers flew through it, and compared with 5.11 million in 2019. Stanfield's passenger count last year was the least since 2003, when 2.97 million people used Atlantic Canada's aviation hub. In 2019, 4.19 million passengers flew through Stanfield. The number of passengers using Winnipeg Richardson last year was the lowest since at least 2010.
The obvious question is: why was Stanfield able to punch above its weight in 2022, and can it maintain its ranking when the effects of the pandemic have fully receded? Airport officials were careful not to speculate about the future.
"Throughout the pandemic, COVID-19 restrictions dampened travel, especially in the Atlantic region, where measures were stricter than in other parts of the country," said Leah Batstone, spokesperson for the authority that operates Stanfield. "While we cannot predict what our ranking will be among Canadian airports, we anticipate 2023 will be a year of moderate growth as we work hard with our existing and prospective airline partners to rebuild our connections" to North America, Europe and elsewhere.
According to census figures, Ottawa had 1.02 million people in 2021, Winnipeg 750,000 and Halifax 440,000.
-HBB
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