Airport traffic numbers up in the air

Sault Ste. Marie Airport passenger traffic in 2022 jumped 157 per cent over the same period in 2021, but this was still well down from 2019, the last full calendar year before the pandemic.

Sault Ste. Marie Airport Development Corp. President and CEO Terry Bos was able to find both good and worrying news from the figures in a news release.

“It was hoped for a strong December, however, a number of factors, most of which was the winter storms in Southern Ontario over the Christmas period, prevented December from achieving hoped for levels," he said. "The calendar year (recovery) as a whole from previous year is encouraging, however, the slowing in that recovery since October is concerning.”

Passenger traffic in December 2022 saw an increase from the previous month, but passenger levels were down 32 per cent from the 2019 level. Overall passenger levels in 2022 were only 62 per cent of the numbers reported from 2019.

The current number of flights provided by the three domestic airlines is: Air Canada Express two flights daily; Bearskin Airlines has two flights Sunday, three flights daily Monday and Friday; four flights daily Tuesday and Thursday; six flights on Wednesday. Porter has two daily flights Sunday to Friday; and one daily on Saturday. As for international flights, Sunwing has returned again for this winter season offering one flight weekly to Cuba.

Following is a summary of passenger numbers: