Absence of Sunwing clips Sault airport's January traffic
The number of passengers going through the Sault’s airport saw a slight drop last month.
But it was not unexpected that passenger levels dipped in January compared to the same month last year, a spokesperson for the airport says.
“Given the fact that Sunwing did not return for this winter season and Porter reduced service to one flight daily for the month of January, the drop in passenger levels is unfortunately not surprising,” Terry Bos, president & CEO of the Sault Ste. Marie Airport Development Corp., said in a news release.
“Although Porter has now returned to two flights daily, there is still no Sunwing which will continue to impact the months of February, March, and April negatively.”
In January, passenger levels were down 5.8% compared to January 2023.
Passenger levels are down 27% from pre-pandemic January 2019 levels, the airport added.
Here are numbers for traffic in January over the past six years:
- January 2019: 16,309
- January 2020: 15,185
- January 2021: 1,619
- January 2022: 4,937
- January 2023: 11,739
- January 2024: 11,060
The current flights provided are:
- Air Canada Express two flights daily
- Bearskin Airlines 2 flights Sunday, 3 flights daily Monday and Friday; 4 flights daily on Tuesday and Thursday; 6 flights on Wednesday
- Porter 2 flights daily Sunday to Friday and one on Sunday