Canadian air travel nearly returned to pre-COVID levels in 2024: StatCan

Canadian airports carried 156.7 million passengers in 2024, marking a 4.0 per cent increase over 2023 and reaching 96.2 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019, according to new data released by Statistics Canada.

The findings, posted Tuesday (July 29), state that passenger traffic at Canada's four largest airports was up in 2024—Toronto Pearson (+4.3%), Vancouver International (+3.8%), Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau (+5.7%), and Calgary International (+2.5%).

“Nevertheless, this was a marked slowdown from the double-digit increases at these airports in 2023,” notes StatCan.

Traffic soared in 2024

Travel demand in the airline industry continued to grow in 2024, even as the sector faced ongoing challenges such as inflation, pilot shortages, delays in aircraft deliveries, geopolitical tensions, and wildfires across Canada.

Amid rising demand for air travel throughout the year, airports experienced significantly stronger growth in transborder (Canada–U.S.) and other international passenger traffic compared to domestic travel.

The introduction of new routes, the return of previously suspended ones, and expanded airline capacity contributed to a 10.4 per cent increase in transborder passengers and an 8.1 per cent rise in other international traffic in 2024.

In contrast, domestic passenger numbers remained largely flat, with only a marginal increase of 0.1 per cent from the previous year.

Cargo update

Following the pandemic surge in package delivery, air cargo traffic in Canada saw continued growth in 2024, with the total amount of cargo loaded and unloaded at Canadian airports rising by 5.1 per cent from 2023.

Factors contributing to growth in air cargo traffic in Canada were an increase in e-commerce activity and route expansions by Canadian carriers.

In 2024, domestic cargo increased 5.9 per cent from 2023 to 802,000 tonnes. International cargo grew 8.2 per cent to 534,000 tonnes, while transborder cargo fell 3.5 per cent to 243,000 tonnes.

Looking ahead

In 2024, over 31.8 million passengers enplaned and deplaned at Canadian airports on flights to and from the United States, up 10.4 per cent from 2023 but 1.2 per cent below 2019.

However, data from 2025 on monthly screened passengers at the eight largest Canadian airports indicate that transborder screened passenger volumes – amid shifting attitudes towards the U.S. amid geopolitical conflicts – have fallen every month, on a year-over-year basis, since February.

Don't miss a single travel story: subscribe to PAX today!  Click here to follow PAX on Facebook.