Halifax airport hopes new flights to U.S., Europe boost passenger recovery

New flights from Halifax to the United States and Europe are expected to help bring passenger numbers back to pre-pandemic levels, according to the airport authority.

The Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA) gave an update to the municipality's Community Planning and Economic Development committee Thursday. 

Passenger numbers were close to 4 million for 2024, and this year the airport expects to "reach or exceed" the 2019 levels of 4.3 million passengers, said chief financial officer Paul Brigley.

Joyce Carter, authority president, said the new international connections facility opening this summer will help attract more of those flights.

She said more non-stop services are coming soon: Edelweiss Air will launch flights to Zurich this July, while WestJet will bring back service to Paris in May for the first time since 2022.

Discover Airlines will operate a Frankfurt service five times weekly, JetBlue will begin flying to Boston in June, and American Airlines will restore its Chicago service this summer.

"Chicago was one of the remaining U.S. destinations that we hadn't gotten back post-2019," Carter said.

Porter Airlines launched new Halifax flights to the Florida cities of Tampa and Orlando in December. Maritime routes have also returned with Pascan Aviation flying to Sydney, Cape Breton and Saint John, N.B.

Brigley said there was a slump in global demand for air cargo last year after 39,000 metric tonnes of cargo were processed in 2023 — the airport's second-best year on record.

But he said there's still strong interest in the Halifax market, with Maersk recently launching cargo flights here for the first time.

"We're also preparing for potential increase in demand for seafood exports to Europe and Asia, should anticipated U.S. tariffs affect U.S. exports like lobster," Brigley said.

President-elect Donald Trump has said his incoming administration would introduce a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from Canada.

Carter also discussed the need for improvements to the Halifax Transit route 320, which provides express service between downtown Halifax and the airport.

She said the route is critical, and the airport authority launched a special bus ticket last year, sold at the airport, just for the route.

This makes bus travel "much easier" for travelers who might not have exact Canadian change for the bus, or the Halifax Transit app, Carter said. The buses do not yet accept tap payment with debit or credit cards.

She also said HIAA will keep advocating for Halifax Transit to increase the route's frequency and service hours to accommodate airport employees who work overnight or very early in the morning.

HIAA numbers show that in 2023, the Halifax airport had a total economic output in Halifax Regional Municipality of $3 billion, labour income of $927 million, and provided employment to about 15,600 people.

MORE TOP STORIES