Toronto Pearson International Airport Statistics

Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) is Canada’s busiest airport and a major North American hub. It handles nearly 47 million travellers each year and serves as a critical link for both domestic and international air travel across the continent.

Toronto Pearson International Airport handles more than 40 million passengers annually, making it one of the busiest airports in North America.

• YYZ processed 46.8 million passengers in 2024, a 4.5% increase from 2023.
• The airport reached 92.7% of its pre-pandemic peak of 50.5 million passengers in 2019.
• Passenger traffic fell sharply to 13.3 million in 2020 due to the pandemic, then rebounded with 35.6 million in 2022 and 44.8 million in 2023.

Toronto Pearson manages about 400,000 aircraft movements annually, which include both takeoffs and landings.

• The airport recorded approximately 389,600 movements in 2024, a 2.6% increase from 2023's 379,600, though still below pre-pandemic levels.
• In 2019, 452,800 aircraft operations were logged. That number dropped to 173,000 in 2020 and 174,400 in 2021, before recovery began in 2022 with 336,800 operations.

• Air Canada holds about 50% of total capacity, using Pearson as its primary global hub.
• WestJet maintains a significant presence, competing on both domestic and international routes with a focus on leisure travel.
• Porter Airlines expanded its operations, offering domestic services and selected international routes, benefiting from its link to Toronto City Airport.

• The airport serves between 180 and 202 destinations, depending on seasonal and charter operations, with over 50 airlines.
• Pearson leads North America in international connectivity, offering 168 international routes, surpassing JFK (123) and Montreal (128).
• In 2024, 36 new routes and 9 new destinations were added, continuing network expansion.
• Its route network spans Canadian cities, U.S. transborder destinations and global connections across Europe, Asia, South America and other regions.

Toronto Pearson handles over 400,000 tonnes of cargo each year.

• In 2024, the airport processed 429,387 tonnes, a 4.3% increase over 2023’s 411,554 tonnes.
• Cargo volumes reached 513,200 tonnes in 2019, then fell to 316,560 in 2020.
• Recovery began in 2021, with cargo volumes rising to 339,757, then 429,218 in 2022.

• 2 August 2005: Air France Flight 358 overran runway 24L during a thunderstorm. Serious injuries occurred but there were no fatalities.
• 25 July 2014: Sunwing Flight 772 returned to Toronto after a bomb threat by a passenger, who was later arrested.
• 5 January 2018: WestJet Flight 434 was hit by a towed Sunwing 737-800, causing a fire and evacuation. No serious injuries were reported.
• 10 May 2019: Air Canada Flight 8615 was struck by a fuel truck while taxiing. Five people were injured and the plane was totalled.
• 7 March 2020: Two Air Canada planes nearly collided, due to a runway incursion and delayed controller response which was linked to transponder issues.
• 17 April 2023: Over CA$20 million in gold and valuables were stolen from a container offloaded from an Air Canada flight.
• 8 January 2024: A man in mental distress tried to open a Boeing 777 door during boarding. He fell, was injured and arrested.
• 21 January 2024: Air France Flight 356 experienced a tailstrike during a go-around. The aircraft was damaged but no injuries occurred.