In 2020, Halifax Stanfield welcomed just 995,426 passengers. It’s the first time since 1972 the airport served fewer than one million passengers.
More than two-thirds of those passengers travelled between January and March, before the pandemic and federal/provincial restrictions took hold. From April to December, the airport saw a decline in passenger traffic of 91 per cent over the same period in 2019. Halifax Stanfield is currently connected to just four destinations, compared to the 46 that were planned for 2020.
The restrictions have resulted in several airlines making decisions to cut service in Atlantic Canada. The impact on regional air capacity has been significant. Whether such services will rebound once pandemic restrictions are lifted remains undetermined.
Pre-pandemic, the airport community supported 5,700 on-site jobs and contributed $3.8 billion annually to the Nova Scotia economy. It was also one of the main gateways for immigrants entering the province.
