A record number of travellers flew in and out of the YYC Calgary International Airport last year, according to airport officials.
Traffic was up 3.8 per cent from a year earlier, with 16.3 million people passing through.
LISTEN: Airport authority chief financial officer Rob Palmer on the record traffic at YYC Calgary International Airport in 2017
Airport officials said the boost in passenger volume is due to enhancements in airline services and flight frequency.
“The strength of our passenger and cargo volumes indicates a positive economic future for the city, as people continue to come to Calgary to experience our famous hospitality,” airport authority president and CEO Bob Sartor said in a news release Thursday.
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The airport’s new international terminal, which opened in October 2016, saw nearly five million people passing through in its first full year of service. A number of airlines also added new flights or increased seating on existing flights.
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WestJet added inaugural flights to Mesa, Belize City and Nashville in 2017 and increased winter service with 52 additional flights. Service from Calgary to Denver and Mexico City was announced for 2018.
Air Canada added seats on flights servicing London, Hawaii and Newark and increased the number of flights in and out of San Francisco. KLM also added seats to flight between Calgary and Amsterdam.
The airport said cargo operations also grew significantly, with more than 147,000 tonnes of cargo moving through the airport, which is an increase of 7.7 per cent from 2016.
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