More than four million travellers passed through the Ottawa International Airport in 2023, as passengers continue to return to the skies following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ottawa International Airport Authority released its 2023 financial results on Monday, saying 4.095 million passengers arrived and departed on flights last year, up 37 per cent over 2022.
There was a 203 per cent increase in transborder travellers in 2023 and a 241 per cent spike in international travellers, as Air France added a new Paris to Ottawa flight.
“I’m so pleased to see our passenger volume building back and our finances turned around. After several years of fiscal restraint and hardship due to the effects of the pandemic, it’s wonderful to be operating with positive earnings,” Mark Laroche, president and CEO of the Ottawa International Airport Authority, said in a statement.
Statistics show there were 3.2 million domestic travellers in 2023, compared to 576,133 transborder travellers and 316,883 international passengers.
The airport says passenger volumes were 80 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels. More than five million passengers travelled through the Ottawa Airport in both 2018 and 2019.
The Ottawa International Airport Authority reported revenues of $145.6 million in 2023, up 30 per cent from 2022, as increases in passenger volumes boosted revenues.
Air France, Porter Airlines and WestJet added flights out of the Ottawa International Airport in 2023, and the airlines plan to boost service out of YOW this year.
The Ottawa International Airport Authority will outline its plans for 2024 and beyond during its annual public meeting on May 1 at the Hilton Garden Inn – Ottawa Airport.