March 05, 2026
Number of flights in and out of Canadian airports were down 7.8% in December
Statistics Canada reports that aircraft movements at Canada's major and select small airports totalled 324,103 in December 2025, down 7.8% from the same month in the previous year. Local movements fell 21.1% year over year, while itinerant movements decreased 3.0%.
A decrease in flight school activity at Canada's major and select small airports contributed to the 21.1% year-over-year December decline in local movements to 73,718. Decreases were recorded in a total of 10 provinces and territories, with the largest declines in British Columbia (-7,912 movements) and Alberta (-5,226).
At the same time, domestic itinerant movements decreased 3.6% compared with December 2024 to 198,125 in December 2025. The airports with the largest declines were Calgary/Springbank (-1,685 movements), Fredericton International (-1,290) and Boundary Bay (-1,142).
Transborder movements (to and from the United States) continued to decline in December, down 5.3% from December 2024 to 32,086. Meanwhile, other international traffic (outside the United States) reached 20,174 movements in December, up 8.5% from the same month the previous year-the largest monthly year-over-year increase in 2025.