Air Canada carries 100,000 passengers in one day, for the first time in two years

Air Canada said it flew more than 100,000 customers in a single day over the Easter holiday, the first since the pandemic began.

said Kevin O’Connor, Vice President of Network Operations Control, whose employees manage day-to-day operations at Air Canada.

He believes Air Canada has recovered from the effects of COVID-19 “operationally” and that the airline is “ready to transport its customers safely and comfortably during the busy summer period that lies ahead.”

The last time Air Canada carried more than 100,000 passengers in a single day was on March 13, 2020.

During the pandemic, passenger volumes decreased until it reached 2,175 passengers on April 23, 2020, due to the almost complete paralysis of global air transport.

In 2019, before the pandemic, Air Canada carried nearly 150,000 passengers per day and registered a record 187,000 customers on August 16, 2019.

Tourism is booming despite doubts

This return to more business as usual at Air Canada underscores a trend already documented by Statistics Canada.

Selon les dernières données disponibles, on dénombrait, en January 2022, 2.6 millions de voyageurs aériens au Canada, un nombre qui a plus que triplé (+227%) en 12 mois malgré la cinquième vague de la COVID-19 sait qui sé This exact time.

Despite everything, there is still a long way to go to catch up with pre-pandemic levels, with 2.6 million passengers in January representing only 37.9% of the volume observed in January 2019

More broadly, according to the March Barometer of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), international tourism continued to recover in January 2022, with worldwide arrivals doubling (+130%) in January 2022, compared to January 2021.

“International tourism is expected to continue its gradual recovery in 2022. As of March 24, there were no COVID-19 related restrictions in 12 destinations, and an increasing number of destinations were easing or lifting travel restrictions, helping to release pent-up demand,” Read the report.

The World Tourism Organization noted that “great uncertainty caused by Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine” just as travel restrictions imposed due to the pandemic could “disrupt the upward trend”.