Aircraft movement and civil aviation statistics, May 2024

Released: 2024-07-25

Highlights

In May, Canada's major and select small airports recorded a total of 544,313 aircraft movements, down 1.6% from May 2023. Itinerant movements decreased 2.2% year over year to 373,928, while local movements declined 0.5% to 170,385.

At the same time, major Canadian airlines flew 7.3 million passengers on scheduled and charter services in May, with a passenger load factor of 84.5%.

Consult the new Aviation Data Visualization Hub to explore aircraft movement statistics and monthly civil aviation statistics in an interactive format.

Wildfires and the impact on aircraft movements

Based on warmer temperatures and drier spring conditions across parts of the country, Environment and Climate Change Canada indicated a higher level of risk for wildfires for the spring and summer of 2024. Several major fires were reported in May, resulting in evacuation orders being issued for some areas of Western Canada. Specifically, aircraft traffic at Fort McMurray, Alberta, increased by 2,429 movements, compared with May 2023, while Flin Flon, Manitoba, recorded an additional 1,191 movements. The majority of this growth was from small carriers (Level IV to VI), which are used to battle wildfires.

Domestic movements decline in May

In May 2024, domestic movements declined 3.7% year over year to 320,787. In contrast, other international traffic (outside the United States) rose 13.0% to 15,528 from the previous year, while transborder traffic (to and from the United States) increased 6.5% to 37,613. Of these three sectors, other international remained the only one with monthly movements above the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level in May 2019.

Chart 1 
Total aircraft movements at major and select small airports, by class of operation

The 2.2% year-over-year decrease in total itinerant movements in May marked the third decline since April 2021. The drop was primarily attributable to private operators and carriers classified as Level IV to VI.

For the third consecutive month, airports in British Columbia reported the highest number of aircraft movements, with 153,605 in May 2024, up marginally (+0.7%) from the previous year. Airports in Ontario were the next busiest, with 133,699 movements. Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International remained the busiest airport in Canada with 33,325 movements.

Major airlines' operating and financial statistics

The seven Canadian Level I air carriers flew 7.3 million passengers on scheduled and charter services in May, 12.9% more than in May 2023, when there were six Level I carriers. One Level II air carrier was reclassified to Level I in 2024.

The number of passenger-kilometres in May 2024 was 19.8 billion, with a capacity of 23.4 billion available seat-kilometres. As a result, the passenger load factor (the ratio of passenger-kilometres to available seat-kilometres) was 84.5%, down from 85.5% recorded in the same month one year earlier.

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

Each passenger travelled an average of 2,725 kilometres in May, up 1.1% from May 2023.

Level I carriers flew 184,000 hours in May 2024 and generated $2.5 billion in total operating revenue.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).