N.B. airports see traffic growth in 2023

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The province’s three major airports saw healthy post-pandemic increases in passenger traffic in 2023, with Moncton’s airport alone on track to top 600,000 by the end of December.

Courtney Burns, president and CEO of the airport, said the YQM facility had moved 562,000 passengers by the end of November. That is 90 per cent of 2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic, when government regulations forced the cancellation of most flights. The airport is projecting 650,000 passengers in 2024.

In 2022, the airport handled just under 500,000 passengers.

The Moncton airport is currently served by two daily flights to Montreal and Toronto by Air Canada, WestJet to Calgary, Porter Airlines to Toronto and Ottawa, and PAL Airlines to Ottawa, Deer Lake and Wabush, NL. Moncton is also served by regular domestic cargo flights, bringing cargo to the main distribution terminals.

Next week will mark the beginning of the winter sun destination flights with both Sunwing and Air Transat offering flights to destinations in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Montego Bay, Jamaica. Air Transat will begin flights to Cancun Dec. 21 and Punta Cana Dec. 22, for Christmas vacation travellers, which is earlier than previous years.

“We had a really strong schedule last year with 11 flights per week and this year there will be 12, with a second flight to Orlando,” Burns said.

She said there were 33 lobster flights in 2023, where huge Boeing 747 cargo jets are loaded with millions of dollars worth of live lobster, and airlifted directly to China, with a fuel stop in Anchorage, Alaska.

The Moncton airport’s big capital projects for this year included an expansion of the apron where planes are parked; expansion of the de-icing pad, and another 200 parking spots for passengers next to the terminal building.

Burns said these projects were partially funded by the federal government and position the airport for future growth.

“There will be more parking for passengers and we will have the ability to simultaneously de-ice multiple planes at the same time,” Burns said. A few years ago, the airport constructed new holding tanks for the de-icing fluid which releases it into the storm drains slower so it doesn’t overwhelm the system, which carries it to the wastewater treatment plant in Riverview.

Fredericton airport sees increase in passengers

Kate O’Rourke, spokesperson for the Fredericton International Airport (YFC), said final numbers are not yet available but passenger traffic was up 25 per cent compared to 2022. She said airlines are increasing service for 2024.

For the winter, Sunwing is adding an extra flight in the new year and will serve the destinations of Caco Coco, Cayo Santa Maria, Punta Cana an Cancun. For next summer, Porter is adding a daily flight to Ottawa and Lynx will add an extra weekly flight to Calgary, 

“We expect 2024 to be a strong year with passenger traffic approaching or possibly surpassing 2019 numbers,” she said. The airport had 427,000 passengers in 2019.

Saint John airport expanding

Lori Carle, marketing manager for YSJ, the Saint John Airport, said the facility expects to serve 175,000 passengers by the end of 2023, an 18 per cent increase over last year. The airport anticipates 200,000 passengers in 2024, which 75 to 80 per cent of pre-pandemic numbers.

Highlight at YSJ this year included renovations of the departure lounge with full food and beverage service now available, a covered walkway with Air Canada, a new snowblower and fire truck and an expansion of service by Flair Airlines to Orlando and Toronto.

 The Saint John airport has a focus on land development in 2024. The first focus is a service station and quick-serve restaurants. There’s also consideration of a restaurant and other retailers next to the terminal building.

Moncton airport working on noise complaints

The Moncton airport received a total of six noise-related complaints since spring, which were discussed by the Community Consultative and Noise Management Committee Monday. The committee has a mandate to address noise complaints as part of the airport’s licence. The majority of complaints are not associated with the big cargo or passenger jets, but rather with the small two-seat trainers from the Moncton Flight College. The small planes are used to train new pilots and often fly circuits over the city in the middle of the night. The routes they fly are by NAV Canada and Transport Canada. Matt Cooling, the airport’s director of operations, said flying circuits is important for student pilots. During the meeting, he showed how the planes lift off  from the airport and fly in a large rectangle-shaped path to return.

To address the noise complaints, the airport is now working with the flight college and federal regulators on a plan where they could turn in a different direction and fly more over the uninhabited areas outside the city.

Burns said they are looking at a trial run of different routes if they are possible and safe, but wind and weather conditions will always be a factor.

“But where conditions support it, we’re going to be supporting the idea that they use the other circuits over less populated areas,” Burn said.

The airport’s noise committee will meet again in the spring.