Screened passenger traffic at Canadian airports, August 2026
Released: 2026-09-25
6.1 million
August 2026
6.1% 
(12-month change)
Highlights
In August, 6.1 million passengers passed through pre-board security screening at checkpoints operated at Canada's eight largest airports, up 6.1% from August 2025.
When making year-over-year comparisons, note that screened passenger counts in August 2025 were affected by an Air Canada flight attendant strike which lasted almost four days and resulted in thousands of flight cancellations.
Chart 1
Number of screened passengers at the eight largest airports in Canada, monthly, 2021 to 2026
Transborder traffic starts to take off
After 18 consecutive months of year-over-year decreases, transborder traffic (to the United States) increased 5.9% from August 2025 to 1.4 million screened passengers in August 2026.
In August 2026, transborder traffic was mixed across the three largest airports, with Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International (+13.2%) and Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International (+11.7%) posting year-over-year gains, while Vancouver International (-3.4%) recorded a decline.
Counts of screened transborder passengers were 5.9% lower in August 2026 compared with August 2024, prior to the shift in Canadian travel sentiment that began in early 2025.
Chart 2
Number of screened passengers at the eight largest airports in Canada, by sector, August, 2024 to 2026
Chart 3
Year-over-year percentage change in monthly screened passengers, by sector, 2025 to 2026
Domestic traffic continues to lead growth
The number of passengers screened for domestic flights was 6.8% higher year over year, totalling 3.0 million in August 2026, the seventh consecutive month in which the domestic sector led growth on a year-over-year basis. As in the previous month, seven of the eight top airports posted year-over-year increases in domestic traffic in August 2026, with only Edmonton International recording a decline.
In August 2026, international traffic (outside the United States) increased over 78,000 (+5.0%) year over year to 1.7 million screened passengers, with Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International exceeding its August 2025 level by more than 47,000 (+6.4%).
Chart 4
Number of screened transborder (to the United States) passengers, August, 2024 to 2026
Another busy summer for flying
Historically, June, July and August are the busiest months of the year for air travel in Canada. During the three months of the 2026 summer season, 17.2 million passengers were screened at the eight largest airports over the three months, 2.8% higher than the same period in 2025.
After the final whistle, air passenger traffic keeps scoring
Following the FIFA World Cup in June and July, when Toronto and Vancouver played host to a total of 13 matches, Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International and Vancouver International posted their strongest traffic growth of the summer in August 2026. Screened passenger counts were up 10.2% at Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International and 6.7% at Vancouver International compared with August 2025.
Note to readers
Data for this release are derived from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) Boarding Pass Security System and include screened traffic at pre-board security screening checkpoints at the eight largest airports in Canada.
The eight largest airports in Canada are Halifax/Robert L. Stanfield International, Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International, Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International, Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International, Winnipeg/James Armstrong Richardson International, Calgary International, Edmonton International and Vancouver International.
Screened passenger traffic includes air travellers required to go through pre-board security screening and excludes aircrew and airport employees. This data series represents a different measure of traffic than the counts of enplaned or deplaned passengers published in Statistics Canada's annual Airport activity report or produced by the individual airports. For example, the screened passenger data will not account for passengers with connecting flights who did not pass through security. For more information, please refer to the "Related information" tab (Definitions, data sources and methods) for this release.
Users interested in accessing daily counts of screened traffic at Canada's major airports can obtain them from the CATSA website.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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