Image courtesy of Wikipedia

While a weak economy and an even weaker dollar have certainly had their affect on travelling Canadians, the same weak Canadian dollar has created a healthy demand for international travellers to Canada. Which means big business and an even bigger summer for Canadian Airports.

Case in point, Canada’s busiest airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport welcomed nearly 9.6 million passengers between Canada Day and Labour Day, a number airport officials are calling “unprecedented.” The airport, which already broke passenger records in 2915, is reporting that its numbers have grown another 5.9 per cent during the first half of 2016, as compared to the same period last year.

"Toronto Pearson's strong 2016 summer growth is unprecedented in the history of our airport," said Howard Eng, President and CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA). "This increase is indicative of the important role our airport plays in connecting Canada, and increasingly all of North America, to the global economy. Today, passengers can reach more than 65 per cent of the world's economies through daily, non-stop flights from Toronto Pearson. That connectivity gives our region a competitive advantage over those without this type of direct linkage to international markets, and it supports the Government of Canada's trade agenda."  

During the summer’s peak days, August 12 and August 19, some 150,000 passengers travelled through the airport each day.

Although the numbers are worth celebrating it is also interesting to note that some 30 per cent of all passengers at Toronto Pearson were travellers passing through the airport on their way to other international destinations.

Connecting traffic has become a key strategy for Toronto Pearson, as well as Air Canada, which celebrated the “most intensive period of international expansion in its history” this summer. The Canadian airline introduced more than 20 new U.S. and oversees flights this summer.

READ MORE Air Canada Continues Major International Expansion

With some 5.6 million passengers entering the U.S. every year, Toronto Pearson International Airport has quietly become the fourth-busiest port of entry into the United States, among North American airports.

No doubt, air traffic into and out of Canada is growing. Although outbound air travel has dipped just slightly during the first half of the year, recording a decrease of just ½ of a per cent (a mere blip when compared to the 15 per decent decrease in auto traffic into the United States), inbound air travel is booming. For the first six months of 2016, inbound international air traffic has grown by more than 13 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

For Toronto Pearson, the biggest inbound markets are the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany and the Netherlands, respectively.

READ MORE: Jean Lesage Airport Shooting for 2 Million Passengers by 2020

And all that airport traffic means more jobs for Ontario residents. An economic impact study associated with Toronto Pearson has been responsible for more than 9,000 new jobs since 2016. Jobs related to the airport have increased by more than 20 per cent during that period, growing from 40,000 to 49,000 since 2010. In total, there are some 300,000 direct and indirect jobs related to the airport, making the airport the second-largest employment zone in the country.  

"As our busiest season draws to a close, I would like to commend everyone working at Toronto Pearson for their dedication to keeping passengers, planes, bags and cargo moving through the airport this summer," said Howard Eng. "The passenger volume that we saw over the summer was unprecedented in Canada. These numbers bring challenges, particularly at peak periods of the day, and they also serve as a reminder that all of the companies and agencies who contribute to the passenger experience must be resourced appropriately to meet the needs of travellers from around the world."