Screened passenger traffic at Canadian airports, August 2025
Released: 2025-09-26
5.8 million
August 2025
-0.3% 
(12-month change)
Highlights
In August, 5.8 million passengers passed through pre-board security screening at checkpoints operated at Canada's eight largest airports, edging down slightly (-0.3%) from August 2024 albeit 5.8% above the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level from August 2019.
Screened passenger counts were affected by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight cancellations and delays in mid-August due to labour disruptions.
Another busy summer for passenger traffic
Historically, the summer months of June, July and August represent the busiest months of the year for the air transportation industry. The summer of 2025 was no exception, with a total of 16.8 million passengers screened at the eight largest airports during this period. This was 2.2% higher than the total for the summer of 2024 and 6.5% higher than the number screened in the same months of 2019, before the pandemic.
Transborder traffic continues to weaken in August
Transborder passenger traffic (to the United States) was 1.4 million in August 2025, down significantly (-11.2%) from August 2024 and the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year decline. Moreover, in August 2025, transborder passenger counts were 4.1% below the pre-pandemic level recorded in August 2019.
In contrast, the number of passengers screened for international travel (outside the United States) in August 2025 was 1.6 million, up 5.7% over the same month in 2024 and 8.5% higher than the level posted in August 2019.
Domestic passenger traffic was 2.8 million in August 2025, a moderate year-over-year increase (+2.5%) and 9.7% above the passenger counts recorded in August 2019.
Chart 1
Number of screened passengers at the eight largest airports in Canada, monthly, 2020 to 2025
Changes in passenger traffic vary across airports
In August 2025, four of Canada's eight largest airports posted higher volumes of passenger traffic year over year, with Calgary International (+6.6%) recording the largest increase.
Conversely, Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International (-5.0%) recorded the biggest year-over-year decline in August.
In August, six of the eight airports exceeded their August 2019 pre-pandemic screened passenger volumes. The two exceptions were Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International (-3.5% compared with August 2019) and Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International (-1.4% compared with August 2019).
Chart 2
Number of screened passengers at the eight largest airports in Canada by sector, August, 2019 to 2025
Chart 3
Year-over-year percentage change in monthly screened passengers, by sector, 2025
Focus on Canada and the United States
In August 2025, transborder passengers accounted for 23.6% of the total number of screened passengers, down from 26.5% in August 2024.
Transborder traffic is typically concentrated at the four largest Canadian airports: Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International, Vancouver International, Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International and Calgary International. Combined, these airports represent more than 90% of all transborder traffic.
In August 2025, all four airports recorded year-over-year decreases in screened passenger counts for flights to the United States: Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International (-15.5%), Vancouver International (-5.4%), Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International (-17.9%) and Calgary International (-0.6%). The decreases coincided with Air Canada flight cancellations and delays due to labour disruptions.
Note that screened passengers include both Canadian and non-Canadian residents.
For preliminary numbers of arrivals to Canada from the United States by air and automobile, see the Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada, August 2025.
For more data and insights on areas touched by the socioeconomic relationship between Canada and the United States, see the Focus on Canada and the United States webpage.
Did you know we have a mobile app?
Download our mobile app and get timely access to data at your fingertips! The StatsCAN app is available for free on the App Store and on Google Play.
Note to readers
Data for this release are derived from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) Boarding Pass Security System and include screened traffic at pre-board security screening checkpoints at the eight largest airports in Canada.
The eight largest airports in Canada are Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International, Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International, Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International, Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International, Winnipeg/James Armstrong Richardson International, Calgary International, Edmonton International and Vancouver International.
Screened passenger traffic includes air travellers required to go through pre-board security screening and excludes aircrew and airport employees. This data series represents a different measure of traffic than the counts of enplaned or deplaned passengers published in Statistics Canada's annual Airport activity report or produced by the individual airports. For example, the screened passenger data will not account for passengers with connecting flights who did not pass through security. For more information, please refer to the "Related information" tab (Definitions, data sources and methods) for this release.
Users interested in accessing daily counts of screened traffic at Canada's major airports can obtain them from the CATSA website.
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).
- Date modified: