Winnipeg airport set record for passenger traffic in 2018

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This article was published 19/01/2019 (2486 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport set a new annual passenger record in 2018: 4.5 million passengers — a 4.2 per cent increase and the fifth consecutive year of total passenger growth.

Traffic volume, an average of more than 12,000 per day, was bolstered by record summer volumes, with August 2018 being the busiest month of all time with 462,719 travellers.

The weight of the average cargo-carrying plane was up five per cent, a key metric used to measure performance. This is reflected in U.S. trans-border and international cargo weight being up 17.5 per cent on the year, and domestic weight also seeing a slight increase. That volume represents about 4,000 cargo flights per year.

New routes from low-cost carriers helped boost traffic, including new non-stop destinations like Flair Air’s Winnipeg to Miami, Fla., route.

Developments around the airport campus this year included the introduction of an autonomous runway snowplow that was announced in October — the first in North America.

The airport is responsible for more than 17,000 jobs and $830 million in wages, contributes about $1.54 billion to the province’s gross domestic product and generates $3.37 billion in total economic output. Airport operations annually make a combined $245 million in federal, provincial and municipal tax contributions.