Screened passenger traffic at Canadian airports, November 2025
Released: 2026-01-09
4.4 million
November 2025
0.1% 
(12-month change)
Highlights
In November, 4.4 million passengers passed through pre-board security screening at checkpoints operated at Canada's eight largest airports, on par with November 2024 (+0.1%) and 7.4% above the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level in November 2019.
International traffic continues to soar, while transborder traffic weakens further
In November 2025, international passenger traffic (outside the United States) was up 9.6% over the same month in 2024, reaching nearly 1.4 million passengers. All eight of Canada's largest airports posted increases in international traffic in November 2025. Moreover, total international screened passenger counts sharply surpassed (+28.4%) the pre-pandemic level recorded in November 2019.
In comparison, transborder passenger traffic (to the United States) in November 2025 decreased year over year for the 10th consecutive month, down 13.5% to 1.0 million passengers. This was the largest monthly year-over-year decline in transborder traffic so far in 2025. All eight of the largest airports in Canada posted double-digit declines.
The number of passengers screened for domestic flights in November 2025 was 2.0 million, 2.2% higher than in November 2024 and 8.5% above the passenger counts in November 2019.
Chart 1
Number of screened passengers at the eight largest airports in Canada, monthly, 2020 to 2025
Uneven traffic changes at the airports
In November 2025, four of the eight largest airports posted higher volumes of passenger traffic year over year, with Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International (+5.5%) recording the largest percentage increase.
Conversely, Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International (-4.9%) recorded the largest year-over-year percentage decline in November.
In November, six of these eight airports exceeded their November 2019 pre-pandemic screened passenger volumes. The two exceptions were Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International (-8.1% compared with November 2019) and Edmonton International (-0.9% compared with November 2019).
Chart 2
Number of screened passengers at the eight largest airports in Canada, by sector, November, 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 November 2025, transborder (to the United States) screened passengers accounted for 23.5% of the total number of screened passengers, down from 27.2% in November 2024.
Transborder traffic is concentrated at the four largest Canadian airports, which account for more than 90% of all such traffic. In November 2025, the four largest airports recorded year-over-year decreases in screened passenger counts for flights to the United States: Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International (-13.7%), Vancouver International (-10.6%), Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International (-13.2%) and Calgary International (-12.5%).
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 release "Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada, November 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.
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).
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