It could be 2025 before passenger traffic at the Saint John Airport (YSJ) returns to pre-pandemic levels.
That is according to the latest forecast contained in the airport’s annual report, which was released Wednesday.
But Sandy Ross, president and CEO of the airport, said he hopes it can happen even sooner than that.
“We anticipate YSJ’s passenger traffic will return to pre-COVID levels by 2023-24,” Ross said during Wednesday’s annual general meeting.
The Saint John Airport saw a record 282,000 passengers in 2018 and more than 281,000 passengers in 2019.
But as the pandemic disrupted air travel, passenger volumes dropped to 59,000 in 2020 and 36,000 last year.
The airport’s latest forecast shows 146,000 passengers this year, gradually increasing to 288,000 in 2025.
“Forecasting passenger traffic in a post-pandemic world remains challenging and unpredictable,” said Ross.
“The good news is the Saint John market continues to be a very attractive one to our airline partners.”
YSJ is currently served by Air Canada and Flair Airlines, with Swoop scheduled to land for the first time on Thursday night.
Sunwing has confirmed it will be flying again in the fall, according to Ross, with the company expected to make an official announcement in the coming weeks.
Airport officials hope that PAL Airlines, which launched last July before pausing operations in the fall, will resume its Saint John-to-Halifax route sometime this year.
“Looking ahead, YSJ is working hard to establish trans-border flights to the United States, and this year we will develop a land-use strategy to diversify the airport’s revenue,” said Ross.
