Editor’s Note: Originally this article stated the airport engaged in a strengthening and expansion of its main runway. It has since been corrected to reveal that only a strengthening initiative was undertaken. The runway has been 10,000 feet since 1999.
Hamilton’s airport moved more cargo in 2022 and saw passenger traffic rebound amid declining COVID-19 restrictions.
The annual report for John C. Munro international revealed the airport dealt with some 877 million kilograms of goods in 2022, up 14 per cent compared to 2021.
That makes the airport the third largest for cargo in Canada just behind Toronto Pearson and Vancouver International.
“We are the largest in overnight dedicated freight and we are the fastest growing cargo airport in all of Canada,” managing director Cole Horncastle told the city’s airport subcommittee Thursday.
E-commerce goods, perishables, manufacturing products and pharmaceuticals are some of major cargo the airport handles through partners Cargojet, DHL Express, UPS, Canada Post, Purolator and Amazon.
At the root of the airport’s recent success is rehabilitation of the 10,000 foot main runway through strengthening of the surface in a 2019/2020 initiative.
With the upgrade, it became one of only four commercially usable 10,000-foot runways in Ontario that operates 24/7.
“So us having that … really sets us apart for those who want to operate from Hamilton, because 10,000 feet really allows all Widebody and Narrowbody aircraft to operate,” Horncastle said.
Meanwhile, passenger numbers continue to rebound to about two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels with just over 645,000 going through the Mount Hope operation in 2022.
The airport had a record 955,000 passengers prior to the pandemic in 2019.
An increase to four passenger screening lanes from three, year over year, helped throughout in 2022, allowing for about 500 passengers to be processed in an hour compared to 2021’s 360 an hour.