4.6 million passengers travel through Ottawa Airport in 2024, as travel remains below pre-pandemic levels

The Ottawa International Airport on Dec. 11, 2024. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

More than 4.6 million passengers travelled through the Ottawa International Airport last year, with big increases in travellers to the United States and internationally.

However, the Ottawa International Airport’s 2024 annual report shows air travel continues to lag below pre-pandemic levels and there continues to be a decline in business travellers.

Statistics show the Ottawa Airport saw 3.4 million domestic travellers in 2024, up from 3.2 million domestic travellers in 2023 and 2.7 million in 2022.  There were 741,449 travellers flying to and from the United States through the airport last year, up from 576,000 travellers in 2023.

The Ottawa International Airport saw a 37 per cent increase in international travellers in 2024, with 433,875 passengers on international flights.

“Growth was fuelled by Porter Airlines, whose network grew to 19 destinations overall, including seasonal charter service,” Susan Margles, president and CEO of the Ottawa International Airport, said in the report.

“Air Canada added capacity and new destinations, and the success of Air France’s non-stop service to Paris added to the healthy volume gains. Additionally, a robust list of sunshine destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico, served by several airlines, helped sustain the positive results.”

Porter Airlines had expanded service out of the Ottawa Airport to 15 destinations by last summer, with 19 destinations during the winter.

The Ottawa International Airport had an average of 68 domestic and 19 transborder flights a day in 2024, along with seven international flights a day last year.

The report notes Air France continues to offer service from Ottawa to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, and Air Canada launched Ottawa to London Heathrow service in March.

Passenger volumes through the Ottawa Airport are expected to increase to 5.2 million passengers in 2025 and 7.3 million travellers in 2030.

Passenger volumes below pre-pandemic levels

Despite the growth in passenger volume travelling through the Ottawa Airport in 2024, traffic remains below pre-pandemic levels.

The airport saw 5.1 million passengers in both 2018 and 2019, before dropping to 1.4 million passengers in 2020 when air travel slowed down to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.  The airport welcomed 4.8 million travellers in 2017 and 4.7 million passengers in 2016.

“YOW’s passenger profile has also shifted considerably over the past four years, further complicating the operation and offering new opportunities,” Margles said.

“A decline in business travel, both inbound and outbound, can be attributed to many organizations—particularly the federal government—opting for virtual meetings and reducing travel budgets. However, this decline has been partially offset by an increase in connecting passengers, primarily driven by Porter, with a strong emphasis on U.S. destinations.”

Boost in revenues

The Ottawa International Airport saw a boost in parking and concession revenue last year, as more travellers visited the airport and new concessions opened.

It received $14.5 million in car parking revenue in 2024, up from $13.7 million in 2023.

“The year over year passenger volume increase of 13% contributed to this favourable variance and, like with rental cars, was offset by the impact of the higher number of connecting passengers who do not require car parking,” the report says.

The airport also saw a 10 per cent increase in revenues through concessions to $18 million last year. The Canal Market Hall food court opened in January 2024, while Bridgehead opened in the arrivals area last Fall.

Airport Improvement Fees for the Ottawa Airport increased $3.3 million last year to $70.5 million, due to the increase in passengers and the increase in Porter Airlines flights.

The Ottawa International Airport took in $162.1 million in revenue last year, 11 per cent higher than 2023.

New businesses in 2025

The Ottawa International Airport is set to welcome new businesses.

The Alt Hotel Ottawa Airport is scheduled to open at the end of this year or early in 2026.

According to the report, a new Starbucks will open in the Canada/International gate area later this year, and construction of a “new and highly anticipated restaurant” called Urban Crave will open in the U.S. gate area.

The final phase of the concessional program overhaul will include the demolition of the existing D’Arcy McGee’s Irish Pub to make way for Zak’s Diner, according to the annual report.