Screened passenger traffic at Canadian airports, September 2026
Released: 2026-10-30
5.2 million
September 2026
4.5% 
(12-month change)
Highlights
In September, 5.2 million passengers passed through pre-board security screening at checkpoints operated at Canada's eight largest airports, up 4.5% from September 2025.
Chart 1
Number of screened passengers at the eight largest airports in Canada, monthly, 2021 to 2026
Domestic traffic remains strong
The number of passengers screened for domestic flights was 5.4% higher than September 2025, reaching 2.6 million in September 2026. This marked the eighth consecutive month in which the domestic sector led overall growth.
In September 2026, international traffic (outside the United States) grew 2.7% over the same month in 2025 to reach 1.4 million screened passengers. This occurred amid continued air travel uncertainty stemming from the ongoing conflict in Iran and elevated prices for jet fuel, which more than doubled over the same period.
Chart 2
Number of screened passengers at the eight largest airports in Canada, by sector, September, 2024 to 2026
Chart 3
Year-over-year percentage change in monthly screened passengers, by sector, 2025 to 2026
Transborder recovery continues
Following 18 months of declines, transborder traffic (to the United States) recorded a second consecutive month of year-over-year growth, as 1.2 million passengers were screened for transborder flights in September 2026—a 4.9% increase compared with September 2025. However, counts of screened transborder passengers were 6.1% lower in September 2026 compared with September 2024, prior to the shift in Canadian travel sentiment that began in early 2025.
In September 2026, six of the eight largest Canadian airports showed year-over-year gains in transborder traffic, with declines recorded by Edmonton International and Vancouver International.
Chart 4
Number of screened transborder (to the United States) passengers, September, 2024 to 2026
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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