Monthly civil aviation statistics, April 2022

Released: 2022-07-04

Highlights

Major Canadian airlines carried 4.7 million passengers on scheduled and charter services in April 2022, almost nine times the number of passengers carried in April 2021. Airlines have now recovered two-thirds (66.2%) of the passenger level reported in April 2019, prior to the pandemic, an improvement from the 55.2% proportion reported in March 2022.

With air traffic at 11.5 billion passenger-kilometres and capacity at 14.5 billion available seat-kilometres, the passenger load factor (the ratio of passenger-kilometres to available seat-kilometres) was 79.1% in April.

The $1.5 billion operating revenue earned was 77.0% of that earned before the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2019.

Testing requirements relaxed further

In April, pre-departure testing was no longer required for travellers arriving from abroad if they were fully vaccinated with an accepted vaccine. Random testing on arrival remained in place. As of April 25, the COVID-19 testing requirement was also removed for partially vaccinated or unvaccinated children aged 5 to 11 if they are accompanied by an adult who is fully vaccinated with an accepted vaccine.

Recovery continues in April

Canadian Level I air carriers flew 4.7 million passengers on scheduled and charter services in April, reaching 66.2% of the pre-pandemic level reported in April 2019. This was an improvement from the 55.2% proportion recorded in March (compared with March 2019) and is the highest proportion of pre-pandemic levels reached since the pandemic began.

Infographic 1 
Passengers carried by Canadian Level I air carriers, monthly, 2019 to 2022

Typically, there is a seasonal decline in passenger numbers from March to April, but this year, they rose amid higher travel demand. Many air carriers resumed flights that had been suspended during the Omicron wave at the beginning of the year, and there were more passengers on both domestic and international flights.

With air traffic at 11.5 billion passenger-kilometres and capacity at 14.5 billion available seat-kilometres, the passenger load factor was 79.1% in April. Although lower than the 84.8% recorded in April 2019, it was the highest level since February 2020, just before the pandemic.

Each passenger travelled an average of 2,459 kilometres in April, down 3.7% from April 2019.

At 124,000, the number of flying hours in April was 68.1% of the pre-pandemic level.

In April, operating revenue earned by Level I carriers totalled $1.5 billion, or 77.0% of the $1.9 billion earned in the same month in 2019, before the pandemic.

Chart 1 
Passengers carried, Canadian air carriers, Level I

Chart 2 
Passenger load factor, Canadian air carriers, Level I

Chart 3 
Turbo fuel consumed, Canadian air carriers, Level I

Contact information

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