WINNIPEG -- Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions, the Winnipeg airport saw a notable drop in passenger traffic in 2020.
On Friday, the Winnipeg Airports Authority (WAA) released its results for the fourth quarter of 2020, which showed a drop in passengers compared to both the fourth quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2020.
According to the WAA, passenger traffic dipped 86.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, and 27 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2020.
As for its fourth-quarter revenue, the WAA said its unaudited consolidated revenue was $14.4 million, which is down from $33.9 million in the same period the year before.
The airport said its earnings before interest, depreciation, and taxes were $1.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
However, there is some good news.
The WAA noted 2020 ended with promise, as Canada began to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
It said the Winnipeg airport worked with cargo partners to plan the arrival of the first doses of the vaccine in Manitoba on Dec. 15.
“Vaccines are certainly a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, and they will be essential to our collective recovery,” said Barry Rempel, president and CEO of the WAA, in a news release.
“As Canadian and global vaccination levels increase, we expect to see a relaxation of the restrictions and greater comfort with people travelling again. However, vaccines alone won’t solve our challenges. There are many factors to consider when it comes to moving towards a more normalized aviation sector, including the status of travel protocols and the state of the economy.”
The WAA said its focus on diversification helped to offset some of the difficulties in 2020, noting its cargo activity grew at the end of the year.
It added that in the fourth quarter of 2020 the number of cargo planes that landed at Winnipeg’s airport increased by 7.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2019. This contributed to a 4.1 per cent increase in year-over-year cargo landings.
