New numbers from Statistics Canada released Thursday show major Canadian airlines are carrying a large number of passengers in the post-pandemic world.
The agency said airlines carried 5.3 million passengers on scheduled and charter services in May 2022, more than 10 times the number of passengers from May 2021 and 77.3 per cent of pre-pandemic levels from May 2019.
The numbers are a higher proportion than the 66.2 per cent recorded in April 2022 and the fourth consecutive month of improvement, according to StatCan.
There is typically a decline in passengers from April to May, but that number rose in 2022 by 13 per cent.
Each passenger travelled an average of 2,499 kilometres in May, down 4.7 per cent from May 2019.
The rapid increase in passengers in May, StatCan said, put a significant strain on airports, airlines and overall operations. It resulted in long waits at security checkpoints and customs, flight delays and even cancellations.
The $1.6 billion operating revenue earned in May 2022 was also 79.5 per cent of the $2 billion of revenue earned before the pandemic in May 2019.
A link to the full study can be found here.
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