Halifax’s move up the ranks of Canada’s busiest airports was short-lived.
Stanfield International Airport came eighth in passenger traffic in 2023, down from the No. 6 spot in 2022, when it vaulted airfields in the much bigger cities of Ottawa and Winnipeg. Passenger growth at Stanfield slowed to 15.2% in 2023 and, like most Canadian airports, remained below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. Stanfield’s 2023 growth rate was the slowest of Canada's 10 busiest airports.
“Airports across the country have been recovering at different rates from the impacts of the pandemic for various reasons,” said Leah Batstone, the airport’s communications and marketing advisor. “Airlines have been making strategic decisions about their air-service recovery that sometimes involve reallocating (aircraft and crews), adjusting strategic plans, and building services gradually to meet demand.”
At Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, the No. 6-ranked airport, passenger traffic surged 36.9% in 2023 but was 19.8% below 2019 levels. At Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, which ranked seventh, passenger traffic surged 35.1% and was 8.7% below 2019 levels. Stanfield’s 2023 passenger traffic was 14.5% below 2019.
Stanfield expects passenger traffic to rebound further this year to about 4 million from 2023's 3.58 million, Batstone said, which would represent a gain of 12%, but still be below the 4.2 million passengers served in 2019. Stanfield's passenger traffic last year slightly exceeded the Halifax International Airport Authority’s forecast of 3.5 million, Batstone said.
Batstone noted that European passenger traffic was up 3.8% in 2023 from 2019, and that international traffic will be bolstered this year by increased services to Europe and the U.S. starting in the summer.
Passenger traffic at Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada's busiest flight hub, rose 19.6% to 40.3 million in 2023. The increase was 30.9% at Vancouver International Airport, the No. 2 airport, to 24.9 million, and third-ranked Montreal-Trudeau International Airport gained 32.3% to 21.1 million.
--HBB
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