Transportation in Canada 2022

Air network

 
Image description: Air Transportation Network

The map of Canada shows the 26 airports of the NAS. Each airport, represented by a black plane in a white circle, is identified geographically to illustrate basic air infrastructure. Seven of these airports are located in the Atlantic Provinces, three in Québec, four in Ontario, six in the Prairie Provinces and three in British Columbia. Three other airports are found in the capital of each territory.

Key traffic and volume statistics

Canada’s air transportation system connects Canada to the world and moves passengers across the country which spans six time zones and covers about 18 million square kilometres.

Canadian airspace is managed by NAV CANADA, a privately run, not-for-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada’s civil air navigation system. It operates air traffic control towers at 42 airports and flight service stations at 55 airports.

The Canada Flight Supplement and Canada Water Aerodrome Supplement listed 2,012 certified and registered sites in 2022, and 12 other military landing sites. The sites fall into three categories:

  • 343 water aerodromes for float and ski planes
  • 427 heliports for helicopters, and
  • 1,254 land aerodromes for fixed-wing aircraft

Image description: Air Transportation infographic

Table 1: Volume highlights from some domestic Canadian airlines
Airline Highlights

Air Canada

  • Accounted for 51% of available seat-kilometres in the domestic air market
  • Operated an average of 959 scheduled flights per day
  • Air Canada’s fleet of aircraft totalled 169 aircraft for the main line, 136 for Air Canada Express, and 39 for Air Canada Rouge

WestJet

  • Accounted for 29% of available seat-kilometres in the domestic air market
  • WestJet’s fleet totalled 121 aircraft, with 50 from WestJet Encore
  • The airline provides scheduled passenger services to 43 Canadian destinations, 28 U.S., and 42 other foreign destinations

Porter Airlines

  • Porter Airlines fleet of 38 aircraft including 29 Q400 turboprop aircraft, connects passengers to 16 destinations in Canada and 5 in the U.S.

Air Transat

  • Air Transat is the largest leisure carrier, with a fleet of 48 aircraft serving 53 international destinations in 25 countries

Sunwing Airlines

  • Sunwing Airlines is Canada’s second largest leisure operator, with 30 aircraft serving 36 international destinations in 15 countries