News from the industry

Despite the staggering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global aviation, Ontario International Airport (ONT) looks forward to maintaining its position as a leading cargo hub in 2021. Two weeks into the New Year, airport officials announced final statistics for 2020, with cargo volumes growing more than 18 per cent yearover-year, while the number of passengers who travelled through ONT was down more than 50 per cent. For the year, ONT processed nearly 900,000 tonnes of commercial freight, 18.2 per cent higher than the previous year. Freight shipments increased by doubledigits in 10 months in 2020 and by more than 20 per cent in six months. Mail shipments increased almost 17 per cent to more than 25,000 tonnes last year.

In December, freight tonnage totalled more than 93,000 tonnes, six per cent higher than the same month in 2019 while shipments of mail grew 340 per cent to more than 3,600 tonnes. “Ontario solidified its position as a leading air cargo hub in 2020,” said Mark Thorpe, CEO, Ontario International Airport Authority.