December 7 marks the 30th anniversary of International Civil Aviation Day. Its purpose is to help generate and reinforce worldwide awareness of the importance of international civil aviation.
Canada is one of 36 countries on the International Civil Aviation Organization Council, a governing body responsible for ongoing diplomatic and technical decision making.
Against this global backdrop, let’s take to the statistical skies and fly through some key aviation-related numbers here at home.
Passenger traffic recovers
The 24 largest Canadian air carriers (Level I and Level II—see Note to Readers for more information) transported 22.8 million passengers in the second quarter of 2024—almost all on scheduled flights, with the exception of 455,000 on chartered flights. This was virtually unchanged from the second quarter of 2019, but up from the same quarter of 2023 (22.2 million). Although the third quarter always sees the highest overall passenger volumes, those for international travellers (many of whom are headed to sunny and warm destinations) peak in the first quarter.
Passenger volumes have yet to return to their peak of 25.7 million, reached in the third quarter of 2018 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carriers reported $8.6 billion in operating revenue and $8.2 billion in operating expenses in the second quarter of 2024. Both figures have increased since the second quarter of 2022, partially attributable to higher prices for tickets and the cost of jet fuel.
More tonnes of goods flown
Canadian carriers transported 217.0 million tonnes of goods in the second quarter of 2024, the highest number for a second quarter since the beginning of the current data series in 2016.
Cargo volumes are always highest in the fourth quarter, coinciding with the holiday season. In the fourth quarter of 2023, a record 285.4 million tonnes of goods flew in Canadian skies, eclipsing by far the previous record of 245.5 million tonnes set in the same quarter of 2021.
Record number of airline employees
The average number of employees working for Canadian air carriers reached 70,196 in the second quarter of 2024—a new all-time high for any quarter and also marking consecutive growth in every quarter going back three years.
This is in stark contrast to the second quarter of 2020, when employment fell by about two-fifths (-40.9%) from the first quarter to an average of 36,826 employees. This was the largest such quarterly drop on record, as airlines were forced to lay off staff as part of adjusting to the disruption caused by the onset of the pandemic.
Economic value added, payroll employment, tourism expenditures
On a seasonally adjusted basis, real value-added in the air transportation subsector grew 0.2% in the third quarter of 2024, and was 9.3% lower in that quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2019. The aerospace product and parts manufacturing industry group grew by 0.6% in the third quarter of 2024, but was 18.4% lower in that quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2019.
The aerospace product and parts manufacturing industry group had over 47,800 payroll employees in September, and as of June, it had 583 business locations across Canada.
Tourism expenditures on passenger air transport in Canada reached $6.2 billion in the second quarter, an all-time high and up from $5.7 billion in the same quarter of 2023.
Ahead on the flight path
Civil aviation statistics for the third quarter of 2024 will be released on February 18, 2025.
Note to readers
Level I carriers include every Canadian carrier that, in the calendar year before the year information was provided, transported at least 2 million revenue passengers or 400,000 tonnes of cargo. Level II carriers include those transporting 100,000 to under 2 million passengers, and 50,000 to under 400,000 tonnes of cargo.
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Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).