Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF) ranked the 6th busiest airport in Canada in 2021

The Region of Waterloo – Statistics Canada Annual Aircraft Movement Statistics Report ranks the Region of Waterloo International Airport as the 6th busiest airport in Canada in 2021. This report, tracks aircraft movements, a take-off or a landing. Transport Canada and NAV CANADA use this information to measure workload, aircraft route activity and runway use. 

In 2021, a total of 133,293 aircraft movements were recorded at the Region of Waterloo International Airport. YKF closely followed Vancouver International (ranked 4) and Calgary / Springbank (ranked 5) airports. For years, YKF maintained a ranking between the 15th and 16th busiest airports in the country. The increase is a result of the pandemic grounding many commercial flights.

Notably, 2021 was also a record-breaking year for passenger traffic. In total 171,828 people travelled through the Region’s airport last year. This represents a 245 per cent increase over 2019 and is a direct result of Flair Airlines. As one of Flair's bases, YKF welcomed three Boeing 737 aircraft, 350 jobs and 12 non-stop destinations.

“YKF is the busiest general aviation airport in Ontario. Flight training has always accounted for over half of our aircraft movements,” said Chris Wood, General Manager at the Region of Waterloo International Airport. “We are the proud home of the Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre, one of Canada’s largest professional flight training schools. General aviation built this airport and will continue to thrive as we grow.”

To meet increased demand, phase one of the airport expansion began in May 2021. Work is scheduled to be completed in spring 2023.

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For more information, please contact:

Lynsey Slupeiks
Manager, Corporate Communications, Region of Waterloo
lsupleiks@regionofwaterloo.ca

The Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF) is a full-service facility which supports commercial, corporate and general aviation. YKF is owned and operated by the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario (Canada). For more information visit www.waterlooairport.ca, call 519-648-2256 / toll free 1-866-648-2256 or contact