Toronto Pearson Airport is nearly back to pre-pandemic traffic.
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (“GTAA”) today said passenger activity in the third quarter of the year was up 11.9% compared to the same period in 2022, rising from 11.2 million to 12.5 million. For the first nine months of 2023, passenger traffic rose 31.6% from 2022 levels, increasing to 33.8 million.
Officials said passenger activity increased due to the strong travel demand and the travel industry partners’ ability to deliver more consistent levels of services following the pandemic, which created labour and supply challenges.
During the third quarter and first nine months of 2023, passenger activity recovered to 88.0% and 87.6% relative to the same periods of 2019 passenger activity, respectively. During the month of September 2023, passenger activity recovered to 91.4% of September 2019 passenger activity.
“In the third quarter of 2023, Toronto Pearson’s passenger growth was a robust 11.9% (higher) compared to the same period last year, where there was extreme rebound,” said GTAA President and CEO Deborah Flint. “There remains a strong demand for air travel and the airport is meeting that demand with more consistent and enhanced service levels across the ecosystem.”
“We are pleased with the significant improvement in the passenger experience, and are focused on improving it further.
“Summer operations were strong across the board – more predictable, more reliable, more efficient,” Flint said. “While the industry continues to face some volatility due to supply chains and labour, operations are more resilient due to several factors, including the launch of the Pearson Standard, which is helping to improve compliance with service standards across the airport.
“We also advanced use of real-time data and raised departure on-time performance by more than 15 percentage points, as compared to May 1 to September 4 of last summer. This strong service performance is an important foundation for an expected strong holiday and winter travel season.”
