Ottawa airport finances looking up after years of pandemic struggles

CBC
·2 min read
Travellers hold hands as they pass others lining up at the Ottawa International Airport, as airlines cancel or delay flights during a major storm in Ottawa, on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press - image credit)
Travellers hold hands as they pass others lining up at the Ottawa International Airport, as airlines cancel or delay flights during a major storm in Ottawa, on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press - image credit)
Travellers hold hands as they pass others lining up at the Ottawa International Airport, as airlines cancel or delay flights during a major storm in Ottawa, on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
Travellers hold hands as they pass others lining up at the Ottawa International Airport, as airlines cancel or delay flights during a major storm in Ottawa, on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.

Passengers walk through the Ottawa International Airport with their luggage. After years of declining numbers and finances due to the pandemic, the airport is reporting an increase in passenger numbers, and with them more revenue. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

After years of pandemic-related travel struggles, officials with the Ottawa International Airport say they're feeling optimistic that their finances and passenger traffic are finally starting to look up.

In its 2023 financial report, the Ottawa International Airport Authority announced it saw an increase in domestic and international passengers, inching closer to pre-pandemic volumes reported in 2019.

"I'm so pleased to see our passenger volume building back and our finances turned around," said the airport authority's president and CEO Mark Laroche in a statement Monday.

The total number of passengers arriving at or departing from the airport reached 4,095,915 in 2023, compared to just under three million passengers in 2022.

It's still a long way from pre-pandemic numbers reported in 2019, when 5.1 million passengers passed through the airport.

Revenues took off in 2023

The majority of passenger traffic at Ottawa's airport is made up of domestic travellers, around 3.2 million.

However, there's been a 241 per cent increase in international passengers, accounting for around 300,000 passengers in 2023.

Several flights have been cancelled or delayed at the Ottawa International Airport on Dec. 23, 2022, during a winter storm leading into the holidays.
Several flights have been cancelled or delayed at the Ottawa International Airport on Dec. 23, 2022, during a winter storm leading into the holidays.

A flight board at the Ottawa International Airport in December. According to its financial report, 4.1 million passengers travelled through the airport in 2023. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

The airport is also reporting earning $145.6 million in revenues in 2023, 30 per cent higher than the year before. The increase in revenue is attributed to rising passenger numbers, the report said.

"After several years of fiscal restraint and hardship due to the effects of the pandemic, it's wonderful to be operating with positive earnings," said Laroche.

If the trend continues, Laroche said it will allow the airport to set aside the funds it needs to repay a debt of about $100 million racked up during the pandemic.