Canadian Air Travel to U.S. Declines for 11th Consecutive Month
Transborder air traffic from Canada to the United States experienced another significant drop in December 2025, marking the eleventh consecutive month of year-over-year declines according to the latest airport screening data from Statistics Canada.
December 2025 Shows Sharp Decline
Statistics Canada reported that travel to the U.S. decreased by 12.5 per cent in December 2025 compared to the same month in 2024, with only 1.1 million screened passengers at Canadian airports. All eight of Canada's largest airports recorded double-digit percentage declines for the month, indicating a widespread trend affecting major travel hubs across the country.
Passenger counts from Canada to the U.S. remained 12.4 per cent below pre-pandemic levels from 2019, suggesting that transborder travel has not fully recovered despite the passage of several years since the height of COVID-19 restrictions.
Major Airport Performance in December
December is typically a busy travel period due to the holiday season, yet transborder traffic showed notable weakness. More than 90 per cent of transborder traffic that month was concentrated at Canada's four largest airports, all of which recorded year-over-year decreases in screened passenger counts for flights to the United States:
- Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport recorded an 11.3 per cent decline in passengers to the U.S.
- Vancouver International Airport saw a 14.1 per cent decline
- Montréal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport experienced a 10.5 per cent decline
- Calgary International Airport reported a 13.6 per cent decline
In December, air travel to the U.S. accounted for just 23.2 per cent of the total number of screened passengers, down from 26.6 per cent in December 2024.
Contrasting Trends in Other Travel Categories
While transborder travel to the U.S. declined, other travel categories showed more positive trends. The number of passengers screened for non-U.S. international flights reached 1.7 million in December, representing an 8.7 per cent increase compared to the same month in 2024 and significantly exceeding the 2019 level by 21 per cent.
Domestic passenger traffic also increased by 2.8 per cent to 2.1 million passengers, which is five per cent above the passenger counts recorded in December 2019.
Annual 2025 Performance Overview
For the full year 2025, Statistics Canada reported that a total of 58.2 million passengers were screened at the eight largest airports, representing a 2.1 per cent increase from 2024 and a 4.8 per cent increase compared to 2019 levels.
On an annual basis, air passenger traffic to the U.S. dropped 7.5 per cent from 2024, with seven of the eight largest airports recording declines. Total transborder passenger counts for the eight largest airports were down 6.5 per cent from the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
In contrast, international screened passenger counts (excluding U.S. travel) in 2025 were six per cent higher than in 2024, with all eight largest airports posting year-over-year increases. Statistics Canada noted that the international sector led the post-pandemic recovery in passenger traffic, with volumes rising 14.6 per cent compared with 2019.
Domestic traffic in 2025 also grew year-over-year by 5.4 per cent and surpassed the level recorded in 2019 by 5.9 per cent. All eight largest airports reported higher domestic volumes compared with 2024.
Overall December 2025 Traffic
Overall, 4.9 million passengers were screened in December at Canada's eight largest airports, representing a modest 0.6 per cent increase from 2024 and a 4.9 per cent increase above the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level in 2019.
