Halifax Stanfield Celebrates Impressive Passenger Traffic Growth in 2023

The sounds of passenger announcements, suitcase wheels humming over the floor tiles and laughter as people prepared to depart on an exciting journey were music to our ears at Halifax Stanfield in 2023.

Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA) is pleased to announce that the airport served 3,579,293 passengers in 2023, marking an impressive 15 per cent increase over 2022 figures.

"We are incredibly proud to have welcomed nearly half a million more travellers to our airport in 2023 than the year prior,” said Joyce Carter, President & CEO, HIAA. “This is a testament to continued travel demand, the industry’s recovery efforts, and the unwavering dedication of our employees and airport community. With the pandemic behind us, we can now celebrate our success.”

Following a fast and furious restart of the air transportation industry midway through 2022, 2023 kicked into a year of even higher passenger activity. In February, Porter Airlines expanded its capacity at Halifax Stanfield by introducing non-stop service to Toronto Pearson through their new E195 jets. Condor and Discover Airlines returned with their popular non-stop services connecting Halifax and Frankfurt, Germany, and Air Transat started their sun flights earlier than usual, offering sun flights as early as December 2023 instead of February. Air Canada continued to offer the most connectivity for Halifax Stanfield travellers, with their popular year-round non-stop services to London Heathrow, Newark (New York), and Boston, along with flights to nine destinations across Canada.

U.S. travel continued to recover at a slower pace than international traffic, due to ongoing sector challenges, such as crew and aircraft shortages. American Airlines was the only U.S.- based airline to operate in 2023, with daily flights to Philadelphia and weekly flights to Boston and Washington, D.C.

Despite the temporary suspension of some popular non-stop European routes in 2023, the international sector still demonstrated a strong recovery.

“Overall, our airline partners reported significantly higher load factors across all sectors than in previous years, with the demand outpacing the supply of capacity during peak travel periods,” said Marie Manning, Vice President, Business Development & Chief Commercial Officer, HIAA. “Our airline partners are excited to serve the dynamic city of Halifax, and this presents an exciting growth opportunity for us at Halifax Stanfield.”

Anticipation is building for the return of several routes that were temporarily suspended in recent years, including Icelandair’s non-stop seasonal service to Reykjavik, which will operate three times weekly this summer. HIAA is also pleased that WestJet will operate three transatlantic services in 2024, providing non-stop flights to Dublin, London Gatwick, and Edinburgh, a new destination on Halifax Stanfield's route map.

Moreover, both Condor and Discover Airlines (formerly Eurowings Discover) will be back with seasonal non-stop service to Frankfurt. Condor has up-gauged its aircraft to an A330- 900Neo and will be adding a fourth weekly frequency, while Discover Airlines is extending its season to start in late April instead of June. This summer, there will be up to nine weekly flights to and from Frankfurt.

Much-needed capacity will also be added to the U.S. this summer. Delta Airlines is returning to Halifax Stanfield with twice-daily non-stop service to New York LaGuardia Airport.

American Airlines will also offer daily service to New York LaGuardia, complementing its existing Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. routes, with the Washington service being offered daily in August and September, providing a significant increase in capacity.

United Airlines is also returning to Halifax Stanfield and will have twice-daily service to Newark Liberty International Airport starting in May, complementing Air Canada's existing daily, year-round, non-stop Newark service. The added services to the New York region result in 6 daily flights being available for passengers during the peak summer season.

“Our commitment to providing our community with an exceptional passenger experience and expanded connectivity to the Atlantic region is what motivates us to achieve these significant recovery milestones,” said Carter. “Looking ahead to 2024, we are not only optimistic but also enthusiastic about the positive trajectory for Halifax Stanfield.”