Flights up at Charlottetown airport in 2017

Tourism was a major factor in a record-setting year for passenger traffic at the Charlottetown Airport in 2017, says airport CEO Doug Newson. The airport authority said on Tuesday that 370,688 passengers travelled through the Charlottetown Airport last year, which was up 4.6 per cent from 2016. Newson said he was extremely happy with the continued increase in traffic.

“This is the second consecutive year of significant growth; our 17 per cent increase since 2015 can largely be attributed to P.E.I.’s strong tourism industry,” said Newson.

The increase in traffic came in the summer months, with significant increases from May to September.

August saw the highest increase at 11.8 per cent, while July saw a 9.9 per cent jump, June saw 9.8 per cent, September was 5.9 per cent and May, 5.5 per cent.

In addition to the strong tourism numbers, Newson attributed the increase in passenger traffic numbers to capacity additions from Air Canada this past summer. Economic Development and Tourism Minister Heath MacDonald said the airport’s hard work over the past number of years to expand air access to the province is paying off. “The record passenger numbers we’ve seen over the last two years are a testament to that hard work and to the strength of the tourism industry on Prince Edward Island,” said MacDonald.