Aviation
Annual Aircraft Movements: Major airports – NAV CANADA Towers and Flight Service Stations, 2016

Analysis

Aircraft take-offs and landings at the 91 Canadian airports with NAV CANADA air traffic control towers and flight service stations were 5.5 million movements in 2016, virtually unchanged (+0.2%) from a year earlier.

Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International, Ontario (458,707 movements) and Vancouver International, British Columbia (325,969) continued to be the most active airports in 2016.

A slight drop in itinerant movements (flights from one airport to another) was offset by a growth in local movements (flights that remain in the vicinity of the airport). Itinerant movements reached 4.0 million while local movements were 1.5 million.

In 2016, itinerant movements fell by 26,218 from the previous year as 49 airports reported reductions. The largest declines in air traffic were observed in Alberta with decreases at Edmonton International (-19,368 movements), Fort McMurray (-16,465) and Calgary International (-14,595). Aircraft movements at the three airports continued to be negatively impacted by the downturn in activity in the resource and energy sector.

In addition, air traffic at Fort McMurray was further affected by a large wildfire in May which engulfed the region. All commercial air traffic at the airport was suspended until it was re-opened in early June. As a result, itinerant aircraft movements at Fort McMurray fell 29% to reach 39,679 in 2016, its lowest level of activity since 2004.

With the exception of Moncton/Greater Moncton International, New Brunswick (+7,642 movements), the largest increases in itinerant aircraft movements during the year were recorded in Ontario at Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International (+12,405), Oshawa (+7,091) and Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City (+5,775).

The 1.5 million local movements recorded in 2016 represented an increase of 37,909 movements as compared with 2015. Airports in Chicoutimi/St-Honoré, Quebec (+15,398 movements), Moncton/Greater Moncton International (+10,594) and Boundary Bay, British Columbia (+10,258) reported the largest gains in the number of local movements in 2016. The largest decline occurred at Montréal/St-Hubert, Quebec which dropped by 21,256 movements.

Itinerant movements: domestic, transborder and international

There were 3.3 million domestic itinerant movements reported at 91 Canadian airports in 2016, a decrease of 1.0% (-33,264 movements) from 2015. The airports leading the declines in traffic were Fort McMurray (-16,430 movements), Edmonton International (-15,555) and Calgary International (-13,967). These reductions were sufficient to offset the rise in movements at Moncton/Greater Moncton International (+7,669), Oshawa (+7,204) and Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City (+5,319).

Ninety-one airports reported 481,699 transborder itinerant movements (between Canada and the United States) in 2016, down 0.6% (-3,137 movements) from the previous year as several US based carriers cancelled routes to a number of Canadian airports. This represents the fourth consecutive annual decline in transborder activity. On a year-over-year basis, decreases in activity were reported by 51 airports including Edmonton International, (-3,527 movements), Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International, Ontario (-1,499) and London, Ontario (-1,246). Among the airports with increased growth in the levels of traffic, the highest were recorded at Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International (+5,319), Vancouver International, (+1,291) and Victoria International, British Columbia (+805).

In 2016, sixty-six airports reported 165,503 other international itinerant movements, up 6.6% (+10,183 movements) from 2015. This is the fifth consecutive annual increase in other international activity. Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International (75,907 movements) followed by Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International, Quebec (32,312) and Vancouver International (24,513) represented 80.2% of the total other international itinerant movements.

Tables

Charts

Factors which may have influenced the data

2016

In 2016, Air Canada reduced the number of flights between Kamloops, British Columbia and Vancouver International, British Columbia.

On December 26^th, 2016, several flights out of Thunder Bay Airport, Ontario were cancelled due to a winter storm.

On December 20^th, 2016, Air Canada began a new year-round service between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Ontario and Port of Spain, Trinidad.

On December 17^th, 2016, Air Canada inaugurated a new non-stop service between Montréal/Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport, Quebec and Puerto Rico. The weekly flights will operate as a winter seasonal service.

Starting December 16^th, 2016, Sunwing began new seasonal flights to Freeport, Bahamas from Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan.  Regina also received a new seasonal flight to Manzanillo, Mexico starting December 21^st, 2016.

On December 15^th, 2016, Sunwing started seasonal flights to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic from Saskatoon.

On December 14^th, 2016 Cargair began to operate a training facility at Montréal/Mirabel International Airport, Quebec. The flight school was previously located at Mascouche, Quebec.

On December 9^th, 2016, Porter Airlines began winter service between Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Ontario and Mont Tremblant, Quebec. Flights will be available until April 3^rd, 2017, with service up to six times weekly during the peak schedule.

In December 2016, Canadian North cancelled its code-sharing flights from Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, Ontario to Iqaluit, Nunavut. This route was serviced by First Air.

In November 2016, the city of Mascouche closed the private airport that had been operating in the city.

On November 18^th, 2016, Air Canada Rouge launched weekly service between Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The route will be flown three times a week by mid-December 2016.

On November 18^th, 2016, Hawkair Aviation Services filed for bankruptcy, suspending all operations.

Starting November 7^th, 2016, Perimeter Aviation added flights in Ontario from Sioux Lookout to Bearskin Lake First Nation and Thunder Bay to Bearskin Lake First Nation.

On November 6^th, 2016, Sunwing Vacations introduced a new weekly service from Kelowna, British Columbia to Cancun, Mexico. This service will run until April 9^th, 2017.

On October 31^st, 2016, Toronto Airways Inc. and the Canadian Flight Academy announced their move of operations from Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport, Ontario to Oshawa Airport, Ontario. In order to accommodate the move, Toronto Airways at Toronto/Buttonville Municipal will be closed effective November 23^rd, 2016. The Canadian Flight Academy will be closed effective November 30^th, 2016.

On October 29^th, 2016, the St John’s Airport Authority seized one of the aircraft of National Airlines passenger operations due to a financial issue. The airline subsequently announced that they were cancelling several flights in November and December and decided not to extend service to St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador beyond January 6^th, 2017.

On October 29^th, 2016, WestJet launched its first flight from Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport to Belize City, Belize. The new non-stop seasonal service will operate two times a week.

On October 24^th, 2016, Perimeter Aviation service to Sioux Lookout was expanded to include the Ontario First Nation communities of Deer Lake, Sachigo Lake, Weagamow (Round Lake) and North Spirit Lake with many of these new flights connecting to Bearskin Airlines service to and from Thunder Bay.

On October 20^th, 2016, Air Canada inaugurated the only non-stop service from Vancouver International Airport to Delhi, India. The airline will operate flights three times a week.

The Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Region began its annual field training exercise in Inuvik, Nunavut and the surrounding areas on October 17^th, 2016. The live-fly field training exercise will run to October 21^st, 2016.

As of October 7^th, 2016, Porter Airlines began daily flights between Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to North Bay, Ontario.

Effective October 6^th, 2016, Calgary International Airport was renamed to YYC Calgary International Airport, Alberta.

As of October 5^th, 2016, American Airlines ended its service between Kitchener/Waterloo Airport, Ontario and Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Illinois.

As of October 1^st, 2016, Hawkair suspended flights from Terrace, British Columbia to Vancouver International Airport.

Starting in October 2016, United Airlines increased flights from Edmonton to Denver, Colorado to two per day.

Effective September 19^th, 2016, Bearskin Airlines increased service between the Ontario cities of Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury. All nonstop service between Thunder Bay-Sault Ste. Marie and Sault Ste. Marie-Sudbury will increase from 23 to 33 flights weekly. Service between Thunder Bay and Sudbury will increase from 29 to 40 flights weekly including a combination of nonstop and one stop same aircraft service.

On September 18^th, 2016, the City of Brandon, Manitoba announced that WestJet was ending direct flights between Brandon and Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport. The service was introduced earlier this year as a trial run.

On September 15^th, 2016, Greater Toronto Airways began daily flights from Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to Niagara District Airport in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

On September 12^th, 2016, Watson Lake Airport, Yukon, welcomed the arrival of its first scheduled commercial flight since the 1990’s. The Alkan Air flight originated from Whitehorse, Yukon.

On September 5^th, 2016, Integra Air launched a new scheduled air service in Alberta between Edmonton International and Medicine Hat.

Operation NANOOK 2016, Canada’s annual northern sovereignty operation began on August 21^st, 2016. The Canadian Armed Forces deployed land, maritime and air components in three locations in the North: Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Whitehorse and Haines Junction, Yukon.

Effective August 18^th, 2016, Moncton/Greater Moncton International Airport, New Brunswick was renamed Greater Moncton Roméo Leblanc International Airport.

On August 6^th and 7^th, 2016, Edmonton/Villeneuve Airport, Alberta boosted their regional profile by hosting their second annual Edmonton Airshow.

As of August 1^st, 2016, Delta Airlines suspended flights to and from Regina International Airport and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

For the month of August 2016, Central Mountain Air continued to offer flights in British Columbia between Dawson Creek and Prince George after a trial run the previous month.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Inc. reported 3,969 fires covering 1,293,072 hectares as of July 31^st, 2016. This represents an increase of 944 fires and 412,915 hectares from a month earlier. In 2015, the agency had recorded 5,766 fires encompassing 3,889,663 hectares by the end of July.

Starting July 28^th and 29^th, 2016, WestJet commenced a seasonal non-stop service connecting, Winnipeg/James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, Manitoba and Kelowna Airport, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, Ontario and Edmonton International.

On July 27^th, 2016, Montair Aviation, a flight training academy based in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, opened their second training base at Red Deer Regional Airport, Alberta.

On July 25^th, 2016, NewLeaf, a new Canadian low-cost air travel company, inaugurated its first flight from John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport to Winnipeg/James Armstrong Richardson International. The company is contracting flights through Kelowna-based Flair Air.

On July 20^th, 2016, Qatar Airways Cargo launched new freighter services between New York (John F. Kennedy) and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International, Nova Scotia.

On July 14^th, 2016, First Air suspended its three-times-a-week service from Iqaluit to Coral Harbour, Nunavut.

On July 13^th, 2016, First Air added an additional non-stop flight between Iqaluit and Cape Dorset, Nunavut.

On July 13^th, 2016, Cargair Max Aviation acquired the Air Médic operational base (land and an aircraft hangar) in St. Honoré, Quebec. Air Médic will continue to have access to the hanger. As part of the investment into its new flight school location, Cargair indicated it would be adding 12 aircraft and two flight simulators.

On July 1^st, 2016, Calm Air ended its midday flights connecting Flin-Flon, Manitoba, Winnipeg/James Armstrong Richardson International and Thompson, Manitoba.

Effective July 1^st, 2016, United Airlines suspended service from Edmonton International Airport to Chicago and to San Francisco, California.

On July 1^st, 2016, WestJet launched a new seasonal service between Winnipeg/James Armstrong Richardson International Airport and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport. The airline will operate flights four times a week until September 2016.

For the month of July 2016, Central Mountain Air will be offering flights between Dawson Creek and Prince George on a weekly basis.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Inc. reported 3,025 fires covering 880,157 hectares as of June 30^th, 2016. This represents an increase of 1,065 fires and 25,152 hectares from a month earlier. In 2015, the agency had recorded 4,076 fires encompassing 1,352,281 hectares by the end of June.

On June 30^th, 2016, Hainan Airlines became the first carrier to offer non-stop flights to China from Calgary International. The airline will operate flights three times a week.

On June 30^th, 2016, United Airlines dropped its direct flights to and from London International Airport, Ontario and Chicago.

On June 29^th, 2016, WestJet began non-stop flights between London, Ontario and Vancouver International Airport. The service will operate four times each week.

On June 29^th, 2016, WestJet launched a new seasonal service between Vancouver International Airport and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport. The airline will operate flights four times a week until September 2016.

On June 29^th, 2016, WestJet began service between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Los Angeles, California. The service will operate three times each week. WestJet will be offering this route for the 3^rd time which was last operated in 2008.

On June 16^th, 2016, Air Canada launched the only year round non-stop service between Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and Lyon-Saint Exupéry, France. The flights will operate five times a week during the summer and four times a week during the winter.

Effective June 16^th, 2016, WestJet began service between Vancouver International Airport and San Diego, California. The flights will be offered three times a week.

On June 14^th, 2016, Air Canada Rouge inaugurated its first flight from Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport to Warsaw Chopin Airport, Poland. The new non-stop seasonal service will operate four times a week until September 25^th, 2016.

On June 13^th, 2016, Air Canada Rouge started a new seasonal non-stop service between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Glasgow Airport, Scotland. The flights will be offered three times a week until September 25^th, 2016.

On June 13^th, 2016, First Air launched a second daily non-stop flight between Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and Kuujjuaq, Quebec.

On June 10^th, 2016, Air Canada Rouge inaugurated its first flight from Vancouver International Airport to Dublin, Ireland. The airline will operate flights three times a week until October 8^th, 2016.

On June 10^th, 2016, Air Canada Rouge commenced flights between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Budapest, Hungary. The non-stop seasonal service will operate three times a week.

Fort McMurray International Airport, Alberta resumed commercial air service on June 10^th, 2016. The airport authority had suspended all commercial air traffic, May 5^th, 2016, as the result of forest fires in the surrounding area.

On June 9^th, Delta Airlines increased flights from Edmonton to Seattle, Washington to twice daily.

On June 3^rd, 2016, Air Canada began weekly service from Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport to Casablanca, Morocco. The flights will be operated by Air Canada Rouge until October 29^th, 2016. Service is scheduled to resume on May 1^st, 2017.

On June 3^rd, 2016, Condor Airlines began weekly service from Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport to Munich, Germany.

On June 2^nd, 2016, Air Canada’s inaugural flight AC35, 787 Dreamliner service from Vancouver International arrived in Brisbane, Australia. These new flights between the two cities will begin daily service on June 17^th, 2016.

In the summer of 2016, WestJet launched a new nonstop route from Calgary International to Thunder Bay.

As of May 31^st, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Inc. (CIFFC) reported a total 1,960 fires covering 855,005 hectares across Canada in 2016. The majority of these occurred in Alberta, which recorded 525 fires encompassing 595,709 hectares, approximately 70% of the total area covered by forest fires nationwide. During the same period in 2015 the agency recorded more fires (2,503) across Canada, however the coverage was not as widespread (239,313 hectares).

In May 2016, WestJet suspended non-stop flights from Abbotsford, British Columbia to Las Vegas, Nevada.

On May 31^st, 2016, Air Labrador began service between several airports in Newfoundland and Labrador: Happy Valley-Goose Bay, St. John’s and Deer Lake.

On May 30^th, 2016, American Airlines ended its service between Phoenix, Arizona and Calgary International.

Beginning May 30^th, 2016, Innu Mikun Airlines launched a new morning service from several airports in the North Coast of Labrador to Happy Valley-Goose Bay. This service will begin in Nain in the morning with service to Natuashish then to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, also allowing for a morning connection to Gander and St. John’s via PAL Airlines.

On May 24^th, 2016, Air Canada began new flights between Hamilton and Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

On May 22^nd, 2016, National Airlines suspended service between Windsor Airport, Ontario and Orlando Sanford International Airport, Florida.

On May 19^th, 2016, Air Canada Rouge launched its new seasonal non-stop service between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and London-Gatwick, United Kingdom. The flight will operate daily during the summer.

On May 16^th, 2016, Island Express Air started daily flights in British Columbia, between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. The airline will fly from Comox Airport to serve Abbotsford, Victoria International, Boundary Bay and Nanaimo.

On May 11^th, 2016, First Air and Air North announced that they will codeshare on selected flights between Ottawa, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Whitehorse. The first codeshare flight will depart Whitehorse May 15^th, 2016. The flights will operate twice weekly by a Boeing 737-500.

Beginning May 11^th, 2016, Korean Air Cargo added a second weekly flight from Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport to South Korea.

On May 11^th, 2016, WOW a low-cost Icelandic airline began flights began between Reykjavik, Iceland and Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International. The airline will start with service 4 times per week increasing to 5 times per week as of July 9^th.

On May 9^th, 2016, Air Canada commenced service between Vancouver International and San Jose, California. The flights will operate twice-daily.

On May 7^th, 2016, Air Canada commenced service from Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International to Jacksonville, Florida. The flights will operate two times a week.

Starting May 6^th and May 7^th, 2016, WestJet launched its new non-stop service between six Canadian cities and London-Gatwick. Flights from Vancouver International, Calgary International and Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International airports began May 6^th, while service from Edmonton International Airport, Winnipeg-James Armstrong Richardson International Airport and St. John’s International Airport began May 7^th.

On May 6^th, 2016, WestJet cancelled direct flights from Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International to Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador to add more direct flights to Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport.

On May 5^th, 2016, the Fort McMurray Airport Authority suspended commercial air traffic as a result of forest fires in the surrounding area. The airport, however, continued to operate as a key transportation infrastructure for emergency operations and the transportation of food and supplies for first responders and evacuees.

On May 4^th, 2016, WOW began flights from Reykjavik to Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International, offering flights 5 times per week.

On May 3^rd, 2016, US Airways cancelled its service between Phoenix and Edmonton International Airport.

On May 1^st, 2016, British Airways introduced the A380 on their existing London Heathrow, United Kingdom to Vancouver International Airport route.

Starting May 1^st, 2016, Air Canada increased capacity by 48% on flights between Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International as well as the connection between Happy Valley-Goose Bay and St. John’s International. The new Bombardier Q400 aircraft seats 74 passengers, 24 more seats than the Bombardier CRJ held.

WestJet (Encore) began daily service on April 15^th, 2016, between Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport and Boston, Massachusetts.

On April 15^th, 2016, WestJet added a second daily flight between Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International.

On April 7^th, 2016, SN Brussels Airlines began 5 / week service between Brussels, Belgium and Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport. The route was initially scheduled to begin service on March 29^th, 2016, but was delayed due to the terrorist attacks at Brussels Airport, Belgium on March 22^nd, 2016.

On April 5^th, 2016, Saskatoon-based Mitchinson Flight Centre opened a new satellite flight training school in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

On April 4^th, 2016, Delta Airlines began a new non-stop service from Victoria International Airport to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Washington. The flights will operate three times daily.

On April 3^rd, 2016, Air Canada ceased its operations between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and JFK International airport in New York, New York.

In April 2016, Air Canada suspended one round trip flight between Vancouver and Terrace. Westjet as well will no longer operate its early morning flight to Vancouver and late night return to Terrace.

On March 27^th, 2016, Mt. Pavlof, a volcano on the Alaska Peninsula, erupted with little advance notice spewing an ash cloud up to 20,000 feet (6,100 m) high and prompting aviation warnings. Flights were affected in the territories, and as far away as Regina.

Starting March 15^th, 2016, WestJet launched non-stop service between London, Ontario and Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport.

On March 15^th, 2016, WestJet (Encore) began 3 times a day service between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Boston.

Effective March 14^th, 2016, Provincial Airlines introduced a new same day return flight from Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador to St. John’s International. An additional evening flight also was offered connecting St. John’s International, Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador and Stephenville.

Beginning March 8^th, 2016, Air Transat launched weekly service from Fredericton International, New Brunswick to Cancun. The flights will operate until May 10^th, 2016.

From March 6^th - 11^th, 2016, as part of the 2016 Artic Winter Games, Air Greenland and several other airlines operated flights between Nuuk, Greenland and Iqaluit. As Nuuk does not have a hockey rink the hockey competition was hosted by Iqaluit.

On March 5^th, 2016, WestJet eliminated flights between Edmonton International and Kamloops and Edmonton International and Nanaimo.

On March 4^th, 2016, Air Transat began seasonal service from Moncton/Greater Moncton International Airport to Varadero, Cuba. The flights will operate until May, 2016.

In February 2016 (leap year) an additional day of aircraft movements were reported.

On February 24^th, 2016, a winter storm hit Chicago and moved into eastern Canada. The combination of snow and freezing rain led to dangerous travel conditions with over 1,000 flights cancelled in Chicago. Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport had about 140 flights cancelled.

On February 21^st, 2016, Air Transat began service from Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport to Cayo Coco, Cuba. The flights will operate weekly.

A major snowstorm hit eastern Canada on February 16^th, 2016. Ottawa received 51 cm of snow, a one-day record snowfall.

On February 15^th, 2016, WestJet ceased operations for the Calgary-Prince George, Calgary-Terrace and Fort McMurray-Kelowna routes, and reduced service on the Calgary-Brandon, Calgary-Edmonton and Calgary-Fort McMurray routes.

On February 15^th, 2016, Air Canada Rouge commenced weekly flights between Vancouver International and Cancun.

On February 13^th, 2016, Sunwing began seasonal weekly flights to Varadero from Fredericton International. The flights will operate until May 7^th, 2016.

American Airlines ended its service between Edmonton and Dallas, Texas on February 10^th, 2016.

On February 9^th, 2016, Sunwing began seasonal weekly flights to Holguin, Cuba from Fredericton International. The flights will operate until May 3^rd, 2016.

A major snowstorm hit Atlantic Canada on February 8^th and 9^th, 2016 with Halifax and St. John’s being particularly hard hit.

Freezing rain in the Ottawa area cancelled numerous flights in and out of Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International on February 3^rd, 2016.

On February 2^nd, 2016, United Airlines ended its daily service between St. John’s International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey.

From January 22^nd – 26^th, 2016, snowstorm Jonas hit the eastern seaboard of the United States and cities including New York and Washington, DC received record or near record snowfalls. Overall, about 12,000 flights were cancelled over the four-day period, a number of which were destined for Canada.

On January 18^th, 2016, National Airlines began a twice-weekly service between St. John’s International Airport and Orlando, Florida (Sanford International Airport).

On January 17^th, 2016, the Maritimes were hit with their third major snowstorm of the week.

Effective January 15^th, 2016, Perimeter Airlines discontinued service to Dauphin, Manitoba. The airline advised this was in part due to the loss of their contract with Purolator courier air freight. In October 2015, the airline started to reduce flights on this route.

Beginning January 2016, WestJet doubled the number of flights from Brandon to Calgary, International Airport.

In January 2016, Castlegar Airport, British Columbia cancelled 61% of all flights due to poor weather conditions.

In January 2016 and over several months in 2015, Great Slave Helicopters made numerous cost cuts in response to the continued slowdown of the mining and oil and gas sectors. Support and management positions were also transferred out of Yellowknife to Calgary.

2015

Having already impacted travel at both Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan, airports in the U.S. Midwest, a major snowstorm hit central and eastern Canada on December 29^th, 2015 causing delays and cancellations in southern Ontario and western Quebec, including Toronto, Ottawa, and Montréal airports.

On December 27^th, 2015, Air China launched non-stop service from Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Quebec to Havana, Cuba. The flights will operate three times per week.

On December 23^rd, 2015, Sunwing began seasonal service from Thunder Bay, Ontario to Cancun, Mexico.

On December 19^th, 2015, Porter Airlines began seasonal service between Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Ontario and Melbourne, Florida. The flight will operate once a week.

On December 19^th, 2015, Delta Airlines began daily service between Edmonton International, Alberta and Seattle, Washington.

WestJet began seasonal service between Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and Orlando, Florida on December 18^th, 2015. The flight will operate once a week.

On December 17^th, 2015, National Airlines inaugurated a twice-weekly service between Windsor, Ontario and Orlando, Florida (Sanford International Airport).

On December 10^th, 2015, Air New Zealand increased its services between Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia and Auckland, New Zealand from five times per week to daily service.

On December 10^th, 2015, WestJet began seasonal service between Waterloo, Ontario and Orlando. The flight will operate once a week.

Aero, Northwest Territories launched a daily non-stop service on December 9^th, 2015 between Vancouver International Airport and Mexico City, Mexico.

On December 1^st, 2015, North Star Air expanded their services in Northern Ontario with the introduction of three new routes. These routes connect a number of smaller communities with Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay.

In December 2015, Moncton/Greater Moncton International Airport, New Brunswick lost a cargo route to Europe after KF Aerospace, which was running flights full of seafood directly to Europe, halted service.

On November 3^rd, 2015, Air Canada launched non-stop service from Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Ontario to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The flights will operate three times per week.

On November 2^nd, 2015, Canadian North and First Air – which together serve western Nunavut through a code share agreement put in place last summer – will add flights between Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay.

On November 1^st, 2015, Air Canada launched non-stop service from Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport to Delhi, India. The flights will operate four times per week.

In October 2015, Alkan Air opened a new flight training facility at Whitehorse Airport, Yukon.

On October 29^th, 2015, WestJet launched non-stop service from Abbotsford, British Columbia to Las Vegas, Nevada. The flights will operate twice-weekly.

Effective October 9^th, 2015, Perimeter Airlines discontinued service to Brandon airport in Manitoba. The airline advised this was entirely due to the loss of their contract with Purolator courier air freight.

On September 29^th, 2015, Air China, in cooperation with Air Canada, launched a new direct flight connecting Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport to Beijing, China. The flights will be operated by Air China initially three times per week.

Bearskin Airlines, on September 28^th, 2015, rolled out 23 new weekly non-stop flights in Ontario between Sudbury Airport and Timmins, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay.

Porter Airlines inaugurated a non-stop flight from Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 21^st, 2015. The airline will operate two daily weekday flights from Toronto. Weekend service includes one roundtrip on Saturday and two on Sunday.

On September 8^th, 2015, WestJet began a new non-stop service between Calgary International Airport, Alberta and Houston, Texas. The airline will operate six flights per week.

Air China Cargo, on September 3^rd, 2015, launched service to Edmonton International from Shanghai, China and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. The flights will operate six times a week, with three flights from Dallas and three from Shanghai.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Inc. reported 6,654 fires covering 3,953,056 hectares as of August 31^st, 2015, more fires and a bit more area than a month earlier. In 2014, the agency had recorded 4,681 fires encompassing 4,549,459 hectares by the end of August.

On August 31^st, 2015, Delta Airlines suspended its service between New York La Guardia Airport, New York and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport, Nova Scotia.

On August 22 and 23^rd, 2015, Edmonton/Villeneuve Airport, Alberta boosted their regional profile by hosting their first annual Edmonton Airshow.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Inc. reported 5,766 fires covering 3,889,663 hectares as of July 31^st, 2015. This represents an increase from the previous year when 3,331 fires covering 1,606,278 hectares were recorded. In several cases, particularly in Western Canada, air support was deployed to assist ground crews.

WestJet Encore, on July 15^th, 2015, launched new daily non-stop flights from Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport to Deer Lake Regional Airport and Gander International Airport both in Newfoundland and Labrador, and to Sydney Airport, Nova Scotia. The airline also inaugurated new daily non-stop service between Moncton/Greater Moncton International Airport, New Brunswick, and Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, Ontario.

On July 7^th, 2015, the Moncton/Greater Moncton International Airport and KF Aerospace announced a new cargo service. KF Aerospace routes will include four times a week service between Moncton and Europe via Brussels, Belgium (DC10-30F), and future expansion will see daily service between Toronto and Atlantic Canada via Moncton/Greater Moncton International Airport.

In early July 2015, a rare, lingering fog and thick ice caused major delays in food shipments to Iqaluit, Nunavut. Cargo planes and combo planes (planes that carry cargo and passengers) were not able to fly in or out of Iqaluit Airport.

Dozens of flights out of Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport were cancelled July 3^rd, 2015 due to a labour disruption between the airlines and their fuelling companies.

On July 2^nd, 2015, a new airline codeshare agreement between Calm Air and First Air came into effect for the Kivalliq region.  Under this arrangement, Rankin Inlet, Nunavut replaces Churchill, Manitoba as the main regional hub. In addition, the announcement indicated a reduction in the number of multi-leg flights in the region with more direct flights into Rankin Inlet.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Inc. reported 4,076 fires covering 1,352,282 hectares as of June 30^th, 2015. This represents an increase from the previous year when 1,977 fires and 414,722 hectares were recorded. In several cases, particularly in Western Canada, air support was deployed to assist ground crews.

Air Canada Rouge, on June 27^th, 2015, began a new non-stop daily seasonal service from Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport to Abbotsford International Airport.

Air Canada, on June 5^th, 2015, further expanded its global network with routes from Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International to Amsterdam, Netherlands and from Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport to Mexico City, Mexico.

On June 1^st, 2015, Air Canada launched its new non-stop daily service between Calgary International and Northwest Regional Airport Terrace-Kitimat, British Columbia.

On June 1^st, 2015, the main runway at St. John’s International Airport, Newfoundland and Labrador closed to allow for several upgrades, including resurfacing and the addition of new lighting, with in-tandem work by NAV CANADA in establishing the new Category 3 instrument landing systems (Cat 3 ILS). The closure of the runway may result in flights being delayed or diverted. The runway is expected to reopen, in part, September 30^th, 2015.

First Air announced it is increasing the number of flights from Edmonton International to Yellowknife from six per week to nine per week, with an additional flight on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The service will start June 1^st, 2015.

On May 30^th and 31^st, 2015, Fort McMurray Airport, Alberta experienced numerous flight cancellations and delays due to a nearby fire in Saprae Creek that caused airspace to be restricted for a portion of the airport’s runway.

On May 29^th, 2015, WestJet began seasonal service from Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport to Glasgow, Scotland. The service will run until October 24^th, 2015.

Firefighting crews battled a large forest fire southwest of Prince George, British Columbia in mid-May 2015. More than 200 fire personnel, 13 helicopters, 30 pieces of heavy equipment and eight air tankers were involved in battling the fire.

On May 20^th, 2015, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines first non-stop flight between Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Netherlands and Edmonton landed at Edmonton International Airport. The route begins with service 3 times per week with a fourth flight starting June 22.

Air Canada Rouge inaugurated a new route from Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport to Venice Marco Polo Airport, Italy on May 15^th, 2015. The service will operate twice-weekly.

Kenmore Air, an airline based in Seattle suspended its service to Nanaimo Airport, British Columbia on May 4^th, 2015.

On May 1^st, 2015, WestJet began seasonal service from St. John’s International Airport to Dublin, Ireland. This service will run until October 24^th, 2015.

On May 1^st, 2015, Air Canada expanded its international and domestic routes at four Canadian airports. New services were launched from Vancouver International Airport to Osaka, Japan and to Comox Airport, British Columbia. As well, new routes started from Calgary International Airport to Nanaimo Airport and to Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport.

On April 23^rd, 2015, the main runway at Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport became fully operational after an Air Canada flight crashed on March 29^th. The runway was completely closed for about 10 days during this period.

On March 29^th, 2015, Air France launched its inaugural flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle, Airport, France to Vancouver International Airport. The flights will run three days a week and five days a week in summer.

Major snowstorms struck Atlantic Canada in mid-March 2015, forcing flight delays and cancellations.

Effective February 28^th, 2015, United Airlines ended flights between Denver International, Colorado and Regina International and Saskatoon/John G. Diefenbaker International, both in Saskatchewan. United flew two flights each day into these Saskatchewan cities.

On February 16^th, 2015, Kelowna International Airport, British Columbia experienced flight delays and cancellations due to fog.

On February 2^nd, 2015, a formidable winter storm hit the Greater Toronto Area forcing flight cancellations at Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

Significant winter storms struck Atlantic Canada in February 2015 forcing numerous flight cancellations and delays. During the same time, eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec recorded colder-than-normal temperatures.

In February 2015, United Airlines cut service from London, Ontario to Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey.

A lake-effect snow band off Lake Ontario hit Halton and Hamilton, both in Ontario, forcing about 40 flight cancellations at Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport on January 26^th, 2015.

January 2015 was marked by extreme cold, heavy snow and freezing rain conditions across Canada forcing delays and flight cancellations at many airports.

Starting January 2015, United Airlines will scale back flights in and out of Quebec’s Jean Lesage International Airport. United Airlines three daily flights to Newark were reduced to two and flights to Chicago were stopped entirely from January 6^th to March 5^th, 2015.

2014

Air Canada launched a new non-stop seasonal service from Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Ontario to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. Air Canada Express will operate four weekly flights between December 18^th, 2014 and March 30^th, 2015.

Air Canada inaugurated new non-stop service between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The new service will be offered three days a week starting December 12^th, 2014.

All flights at Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia were briefly grounded November 30^th, 2014 after a water leak at the air traffic control centre.

On November 26^th, 2014, Air Canada Rouge commenced non-stop flights between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Honolulu, Hawaii. The new service will be offered twice weekly.

A light snowfall combined with blowing snow delayed and cancelled a number of flights departing Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport on November 19^th, 2014.

The world’s longest and heaviest aircraft, the six-engine Antonov An-225 Mriya, made its first appearance at Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport on November 17^th, 2014. The aircraft is approximately 275 feet long with a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes.

A simulated air crash took place in October 2014 on one of the runways at the Montréal/Saint-Hubert Airport, Quebec. The exercise was designed to test the effectiveness of the emergency measures plan, in accordance with Transport Canada requirements.

Effective October 25^th, 2014, United Airlines ended flights between Chicago O’Hare International, Illinois and Regina International, Saskatchewan.

On October 1^st, 2014, United Airlines discontinued service between Saskatoon/John G. Diefenbaker International, Saskatchewan and Chicago O’Hare International.

Effective July 24^th, 2014, NAV CANADA terminated the services provided by the Flight Service Station located at Prince Rupert Airport, British Columbia. The airport remains operational.

On July 23^rd and 24^th, 2014, Air Canada halted flights to Tel Aviv, Israel due to a rocket strike near its main airport.

On June 28^th, 2014, Calgary International Airport opened a new runway. The new runway will be the longest in Canada, capable of landing the largest aircraft in the world with fewer payload restrictions.

Effective June 27^th, 2014, WestJet Encore began service between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Thunder Bay Airport, Ontario as well as service between Thunder Bay Airport and Winnipeg/James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, Manitoba.

As of June 25^th, 2014, China Eastern Airlines commenced flights from Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport to Shanghai, China to supplement increasing demand for flights to and from Chinese destinations.

Starting June 24^th, 2014, WestJet commenced non-stop service twice per week between Las Vegas, Nevada and Fort McMurray Airport, Alberta.

Effective June 20^th, 2014, Canadian North Airlines began a seasonal non-stop flight service between Iqaluit Airport, Nunavut and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport, Nova Scotia with same plane service to St John’s International, Newfoundland and Labrador.

On June 15^th, 2014, WestJet launched its first transatlantic flight between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Dublin, Ireland. The inaugural flight stopped at St John’s International Airport for refueling.

On June 1^st, 2014, British Airways began to operate 19 flights per week between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and London, England, with the introduction of additional flights on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Beginning May 12^th, 2014, WestJet Encore added new daily non-stop service between Fort McMurray Airport and Kelowna Airport, British Columbia and between Fort McMurray and Vancouver International Airport.

As of May 1^st, 2014, Air Canada Rouge began flying year-round service between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Dublin, Ireland.

Air Canada Rouge will operate five new routes from Vancouver International Airport by the end of 2014, beginning with a daily service to Las Vegas on April 28^th. The airline will also offer daily services to Los Angeles, California (beginning May 1^st), Anchorage, Alaska (beginning May 16^th), San Francisco, California (beginning July 1^st) and Phoenix, Arizona (beginning December 17^th).

Effective April 1^st, 2014, Bearskin Airlines cancelled its service from Kitchener-Waterloo Airport, Ontario to Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, Ontario.

Beginning March 31^st, Abbotsford-based Island Express Air will begin flights in British Columbia twice daily from Boundary Bay Airport to Victoria International Airport with connecting flights to Nanaimo and Tofino.

On March 12^th, 2014 a significant winter storm struck Eastern Canada forcing dozens of flight cancellations and delays at Eastern Canadian airports.

On March 3^rd, 2014, Kenmore Air, a Seattle, Washington based airline launched a new non-stop service between Nanaimo Airport and Seattle. The airline will operate flights twice-daily.

On February 24^th, 2014, a major winter storm with freezing temperatures struck the south-west coast of British Columbia forcing flight cancellations and delays at Vancouver International Airport and Victoria International Airport.

2013

Significant winter storms struck much of Ontario, Québec and the Maritime provinces forcing flight cancellations and delays across Canada in December 2013.

On November 30^th, 2013 (4:49pm), Edmonton City Centre Airport, Alberta officially closed.

In November 2013, Air Canada Rouge began year round flying between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Ontario and Orlando, Florida with 3 daily departures and two more starting in December 2013.

WestJet launched a new non-stop seasonal service between Calgary International Airport, Alberta and Miami International Airport, Florida in October 2013. The airline started service four times a week until December 14^th. Effective December 16^th the service increased to six times weekly.

In October 2013, Air Canada Rouge launched service between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Las Vegas, Nevada. The airline offered ten flights per week for the winter 2013-2014 season.

In July 2013, Air Canada began operations of its new leisure subsidiary Air Canada Rouge.  Flying out of Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport and Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International, Quebec the new carrier will initially serve three European and ten Caribbean and Latin American destinations.

In June 2013, WestJet launched its new regional carrier, WestJet Encore, into operations. The new airline commenced flights to Fort St. John, Nanaimo, Vancouver and Victoria, all in British Columbia and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Starting April 2013, Porter Airlines added a fourth round-trip weekday flight between Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Ontario and Windsor.

2012

Significant winter storms struck eastern Canada and the Maritime provinces in December 2012 forcing numerous flight cancellations and delays.

In December 2012, Sunwing began offering seasonal flights from Fort McMurray, Alberta to Mexico.

Hurricane Sandy struck the northeastern United States and eastern Canada in October 2012 forcing numerous flight cancellations.

In June 2012, Porter Airlines commenced summer service to Mont-Tremblant, Québec with four weekly flights between Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Ontario and Mont-Tremblant International Airport.

In May 2012, WestJet launched a new non-stop seasonal service between Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International, Ontario and Aruba, Netherlands Antilles. The airline also introduced daily non-stop flights to Chicago, Illinois from both Calgary International, Alberta and Vancouver International, British Columbia as well as from Vancouver International to Whitehorse International, Yukon.

In April 2012, Porter Airlines increased weekday roundtrip flights from six to seven between Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and Boston’s Logan International Airport, Massachusetts.

Air Canada experienced some delays and cancellations of flights departing Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International and Montréal/Pierre Elliot Trudeau International in both March and April 2012. This was due to one day work actions by Air Canada ground handling employees.

In February 2012 (leap year) an additional day of aircraft movements were reported.

In January 2012, Porter Airlines started regular service between Toronto/Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and Timmins, Ontario.