Aviation
Monthly Aircraft Movements: Major airports – NAV CANADA Towers and Flight Service Stations, April 2017

Analysis

There were 452,787 aircraft take-offs and landings at the 91 Canadian airports with NAV CANADA air traffic control towers and flight service stations compared with 490,047 movements in April 2016.

Both itinerant movements (flights from one airport to another) and local movements (flights that remain in the vicinity of the airport) decreased in April 2017 on a year-over-year basis. Itinerant movements were down 5.4% to 313,837 while local movements decreased 12.2% to 138,950.

Overall, air traffic dropped 7.6% in April  2017 as 62 airports reported fewer movements from the same month the previous year. Year-over-year variations of more than 1,000 movements were reported at 18 airports. Of these, 15 airports registered declines ranging from 8,321 movements at Montréal/St-Hubert, Quebec to 1,023 at North Bay, Ontario. The growth in aircraft movements at the remaining 3 airports ranged from 3,176 movements at Chicoutimi/St-Honoré, Quebec to 1,347 at Whitehorse International, Yukon.

Itinerant traffic dropped 5.4% (-18,039 movements) as 63 airports reported fewer movements in April 2017. The largest declines were observed at Montréal/St. Hubert (-3,687 movements), Toronto/Buttonville Municipal, Ontario (-1,876), Calgary/Springbank, Alberta (-1,741) and Fredericton International, New Brunswick (-1,450). The largest gains were recorded at Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International, Quebec (+856), St. Catharines, Ontario (+807) and Chicoutimi/St-Honoré (+762).

In April 2017, local movements dropped 12.2% (-19,221 movements) as 54 airports reported fewer levels of activity from the same month a year earlier. Year-over-year variations ranged from a decrease of 4,634 movements at Montréal/St.Hubert to an increase of 2,414 movements at Chicoutimi/St-Honoré.

Itinerant movements: domestic, transborder and international

Domestic itinerant movements (within Canada) fell to 259,425 in April 2017, down 7.1% from the same month the previous year. The airports leading the declines in air traffic were Montréal/St. Hubert (-3,671 movements), Toronto/Buttonville Municipal (-1,919), Calgary/Springbank (-1,726), Frederiction International (-1,468) and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (-1,004). These reductions were sufficient to offset the growth at several airports including St. Catharines (+807), Chicoutimi/St-Honoré (+763) and Red Deer Regional, Alberta (+656).

During the month, 78 airports reported 39,088 transborder (between Canada and the United States) itinerant movements, up 1.0% from the level reported in April 2016. The largest gains in traffic were recorded at Vancouver International, British Columbia (+464 movements), Hamilton, Ontario (+161), Montréal/Pierre Elliot Trudeau International (+149) and Calgary International, Alberta (+141). The largest decreases were observed at Regina International, Saskatchewan (-85), Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario (-75) and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International, Nova Scotia (-74).

In April 2017, 44 airports reported a total of 15,324 other international itinerant movements, up 11.1% from the same period the previous year. Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International was the busiest airport with 6,895 movements, an increase of 11.3%, followed by Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International (2,890 movements) and Vancouver International (2,184). Together, these three airports accounted for 78% of all other international itinerant movements during the month.

Factors which may have influenced the data

On April 30^th, 2017, WestJet commenced service between Hamilton Airport, Ontario and Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia. The flight will operate four times a week moving to a daily flight, June 28^th to September 7^th. The flight will then return to four times a week until October 27^th.

On April 30^th, 2017, WestJet launched a daily direct flight between Winnipeg/James Armstrong International, Manitoba to Abbotsford, British Columbia.

On April 30^th, 2017, WestJet resumed daily non-stop flights between Gander International Airport, Newfoundland and Labrador and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport, Nova Scotia.

In April 2017, Cathay Pacific added three additional flights between Vancouver International Airport and Hong Kong, China. The airline operates the new Airbus 350-900.

In April 2017, Calm Air cancelled flights to Gillam, Manitoba due to the soft runway conditions. The gravel runway was unsafe to land large planes.

Effective March 28^th, 2017, Cathay Pacific increased the frequency of its service from Vancouver International Airport to Boston, Massachusetts.

As of March 26^th, 2017, Air Canada stopped flying directly from Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International, Ontario to LaGuardia Airport, New York, New York. The airline instead will offer flights from Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International to Newark Airport, New Jersey.

On March 17^th, 2017, two Cessnas operated by Cargair Aviation collided in mid-air over St-Bruno, Quebec. Several of the Cargair flight school campuses suspended activites for a few days immediately following the accident.

On March 15^th, 2017, Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport reported more than two dozen flight cancellations and delays due to a winter storm which caused power outages throughout the province.

On March 14^th, 2017, a powerful winter storm pounded southern and central Quebec. Most flights at Montréal/Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport, Quebec were cancelled or delayed.

On March 7^th, 2017, Regina International Airport, Saskatchewan cancelled and delayed numerous flights due to blizzard conditions.

On February 16^th, 2017, Air Canada launched daily year-round flights from Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International to Shanghai, China.

Starting February 5^th, 2017, Air Canada began daily year-round non-stop flights between Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, Texas and Vancouver International.

On February 3^rd, 2017, WestJet inaugurated daily service from Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International, Ontario to Sudbury, Ontario.

On January 23^rd, 2017, First Air announced a new four-year agreement with Summit Air, which will expand its use of the charter passenger service.

On January 19^th, 2017, WestJet inaugurated service from Calgary International Airport, Alberta to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Arizona. Inaugural service from Edmonton International Airport, Alberta began January 21^st.

On January 17^th, 2017, WestJet launched its non-stop service from Winnipeg/James Armstrong Richardson International Airport to Hamilton Airport. The airline also relaunched non-stop service to Edmonton International and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport from Hamilton Airport on January 16^th.

Effective January 15^th, 2017, NewLeaf, operated by Flair Airlines, cancelled flights between Hamilton and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International airports. Also flights were cancelled between Abbotsford and Edmonton International and between Edmonton International and Kelowna, British Columbia.

Starting January 10^th, 2017, Aqsaqniq Airways offered bi-monthly service from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The company plans to put passengers and freight on a de Havilland Dash-7 combi between the two hubs every second Tuesday.

Starting January 9^th, 2017, Delta Air Lines resumed daily year-round services between John F. Kennedy Airport, New York and Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport.

On January 8^th, 2017, American Airlines ended its service from Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International Airport to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Due to planned maintenance by Canadian North, the Ottawa to Iqaluit codeshare route will be served by a single daily flight operated by First Air from January 5^th to February 28^th, 2017.

On January 2^nd, 2017, Canadian North launched a refurbished Boeing 737-300 combi-jet on its Iqaluit, Nunavut–Ottawa route. The company also announced that it will resume Dash 8 service for the following Nunavut airports: Pond Inlet, Clyde River, Qikiqtarjuaq, and Pangnirtung.

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

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 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 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, Saskatchewan and Regina. 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 to Iqaluit. 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 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.

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.

In August 2016, West Wind Aviation completed its acquisition of Transwest Air. The carriers will operate as separate airlines with a codeshare agreement on their northern Canada schedule.

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 and Kelowna Airport, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport 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.

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, 2016, 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 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 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 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, United Kingdom. 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 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.

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, British Columbia to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Washington. The flights will operate three times daily.

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

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.