The Winnipeg Richardson International Airport has hit passenger milestones in its post-pandemic recovery.
Between April and June, more than 775,000 people travelled through Winnipeg — roughly 71 per cent of pre-pandemic numbers for the same period in 2019, according to the Winnipeg Airports Authority’s second-quarter results.
“There’s nothing more enjoyable for us than providing our community the opportunity to head out on a new adventure or reconnect with the people and places they love to visit,” said Nick Hays, WAA president and chief executive.
Compared with the second quarter of 2021, the latest three-month passenger total is up 569 per cent. In May alone there were 264,550 passengers, the first time since the start of the pandemic that a quarter of a million people passed through the terminal in a month.
Additionally, more than 11,000 people came through the airport on June 20, notably, the highest single day total in 27 months.
Among the passengers who passed through the airport were more than 300 Ukrainian refugees who came through on a charter flight.
“We expect the exciting trend of increasing passenger numbers to continue throughout the summer as more and more people hop aboard a plane,” Hays added.
The airport is keeping a close eye on some potential disruptors to recovery such as staff shortages throughout the industry.
Furthermore, the airport’s steadily growing cargo sector continued to thrive in the second quarter, with an increase in gross takeoff weight, a key metric in measuring air freight performance, and overall cargo plane landings from the previous year.
WAA’s consolidated revenue for the second quarter of 2022 increased 65 per cent from the same period the previous year to $33 million.
Earnings before interest, depreciation and taxes were $16.2 million versus $2.4 million during the second quarter of 2021.