Catalogue no. 51-004-X ISSN 1480-7483 Aviation Monthly Aircraft Movements: Major airports – NAV CANADA Towers and Flight Service Stations, January 2020 Release date: March 26, 2020 How to obtain more information For information about this product or the wide range of services and data available from Statistics Canada, visit our website, www.statcan.gc.ca. You can also contact us by Email at [email protected] Telephone, from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the following numbers: • Statistical Information Service 1-800-263-1136 • National telecommunications device for the hearing impaired 1-800-363-7629 • Fax line 1-514-283-9350 Depository Services Program • Inquiries line 1-800-635-7943 • Fax line 1-800-565-7757 Standards of service to the public Note of appreciation Statistics Canada is committed to serving its clients in a prompt, Canada owes the success of its statistical system to a reliable and courteous manner. 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Monthly Aircraft Movements: Major airports – NAV CANADA Towers and Flight Service Stations, January 2020 Monthly Aircraft Movements: Major airports – NAV CANADA Towers and Flight Service Stations, January 2020 Analysis There were 360,509 aircraft take-offs and landings at the 90 Canadian airports with NAV CANADA air traffic control towers and flight service stations in January, compared with 376,562 movements in January 2019. A decrease in both itinerant movements (flights from one airport to another) and local movements (flights that remain in the vicinity of the airport) contributed to the year-over-year decline. Itinerant movements were down 4.9% to 264,892 and local movements fell 2.3% to 95,617. Overall, aircraft movements were down 4.3% in January, with 56 airports reporting less traffic than in January 2019. Year-over-year variations of more than 1,000 movements were reported at 20 airports, of which 11 reported declines. With the exception of Ottawa/Macdonald Cartier International, Ontario, all of the declines were in British Columbia and Alberta, ranging from a reduction of 6,970 movements at Boundary Bay, British Columbia, to a decrease of 1,175 movements at Edmonton International, Alberta. The nine airports reporting increases were all located in Ontario or Quebec, where growth ranged from 3,295 movements at Montréal/St-Hubert, Quebec, to 1,248 movements at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Itinerant traffic fell 4.9%, with 53 airports reporting fewer movements. The largest reductions all occurred in British Columbia, specifically at Boundary Bay (-3,080 movements), Victoria International (-1,772), Pitt Meadows (-1,661) and Abbotsford (-1,457). The biggest increases were observed at Oshawa Ontario (+1,892) and Montréal/ St-Hubert (+1,467). In January, 37 airports recorded lower levels of local activity as compared to the same month one year ago, resulting in an overall decrease of 2,276 movements. Year-over-year variations ranged from a decrease of 3,890 movements at Boundary Bay, to an increase of 1,980 movements at Québec/Jean Lesage International, Quebec. Itinerant movements: domestic, transborder and international Domestic itinerant movements (within Canada) decreased 5.5% to 210,639. The largest declines occurred at Boundary Bay (-3,063 movements), Pitt Meadows (-1,656) and Victoria International (-1,619). The largest increases were recorded at Oshawa (+1,882) and Montréal/St-Hubert (+1,445). During the month, 68 airports reported 36,517 transborder (between Canada and the United States) itinerant movements, down 3.4% from the level reported in January of last year. The largest declines were observed at Edmonton International (-313 movements), Vancouver International, British Columbia (-258) and Ottawa/ Macdonald-Cartier International (-215). The largest increases in transborder traffic were recorded at Calgary International, Alberta (+90) and Windsor, Ontario (+49). In January, 34 airports reported a total of 17,736 other international itinerant movements, down slightly (-0.7%) from the same period the previous year. Effective January 30, 2020, Air Canada suspended all flights to China following the Government of Canada’s advisory to avoid non-essential travel to China due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International, Ontario was the busiest airport with 7,533 movements, followed by Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International, Quebec (3,640 movements) and Vancouver International (2,718). Together, these three airports accounted for 78.3% of all other international itinerant movements during the month. Following the recent cancellations of flights to China by many airlines worldwide, Statistics Canada is monitoring potential impacts of the coronavirus on Canadian air travel. In light of the Government of Canada’s January 29 advisory to avoid non-essential travel to China, Air Canada announced it was suspending all flights between Canada and Beijing and Shanghai effective January 30, 2020. Since 2009, air traffic between Canada and China has increased by almost four times to reach 10,760 arriving or departing flights in 2019, with over half of those flights originating from or arriving to Vancouver International Airport, and just under a third to and from Toronto/ Lester B. Pearson International. In January 2020, Canadian airports recorded 827 arrivals and departures to and from China, down by 5% from January 2019. Statistics Canada – Catalogue no. 51-004-X 3 Monthly Aircraft Movements: Major airports – NAV CANADA Towers and Flight Service Stations, January 2020 Factors which may have influenced the data Effective January 30, 2020, NAV CANADA expanded its services at Mirabel International Airport, Quebec, to offer air traffic control services for 16 hours per day, while continuing to operate as a flight service station for the remaining eight hours. On January 29, 2020, Air Canada announced that following the Government of Canada’s Advisory to avoid non- essential travel to mainland China, it was temporarily suspending all direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai, effective January 30, 2020 until February 29, 2020. On January 22, 2020, Air Canada announced that it had removed the Boeing 737 MAX from its schedule until June 30, 2020. The previous day, WestJet announced that it would be removing the aircraft until June 24, 2020. On January 22, 2020, the inaugural Caesars Rewards Air flight to Laughlin, Nevada, departed Fort McMurray, Alberta on a Sun Country Airlines Boeing 737-800. The winter charter service stops at Edmonton International, Alberta to pick up more passengers prior to landing in Laughlin and is the first transborder passenger flight to arrive and depart from Fort McMurray in four years. On January 17, 2020, a blizzard hit St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, dropping 76.2 centimetres of snow in one day, with winds at St. John’s International Airport recorded at between 120 and 157 kilometres per hour at the height of the storm. Commercial flights were cancelled at St. John’s International for five days, resuming on January 22. On January 17, 2020, Air North commenced new seasonal service between Vancouver International, British Columbia and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The route is to operate twice-weekly until March 2, 2020. Effective January 1, 2020, Northern Air Charter discontinued its scheduled passenger service between Peace River Regional Airport, Alberta and Edmonton International. On December 21, 2019, Air Canada Rouge’s first international flight out of Québec/Jean Lesage International, Quebec departed for Cancun, Mexico. On December 22, 2019, service to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic also began. The flights will run through April 11 and 12, 2020, respectively. On December 18, 2019, Air Transat launched twice-weekly service from Vancouver International to San José and Liberia, both in Costa Rica. The seasonal route will run through April 25, 2020. Starting on December 17, 2019, Air Transat increased the frequency of its flights between Québec/Jean Lesage International and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from four weekly flights to five. On December 19, the airline increased the frequency from the same airport to Paris, France from one weekly flight to two, and on December 24, also increased flights to Holguin, Cuba, from one flight per week to two. On December 17, 2019, Transport Canada cancelled the operating certificate of Ottawa Aviation Services, an Ottawa, Ontario-based flight school. On December 17, 2019, the first Sunwing flight from Québec City, Quebec to Mazatlán, Mexico departed Québec/ Jean Lesage International Airport. The weekly service will be available until April 14, 2020. On December 16, 2019, Air Canada Rouge flights between Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and Toronto, Ontario became year-round service after having operated only in the summer. Two daily flights will be operated using Airbus A319 aircraft. On December 15, 2019, Swoop launched service between Winnipeg/James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, Manitoba and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Arizona. Flights will depart twice per week through April 23, 2020. On December 11, 2019, Air Canada inaugurated the only non-stop service between Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International, Quebec and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Three weekly flights will occur until March 27, 2020.