Charlottetown Airport saw boost in passenger traffic for 2019

The Charlottetown Airport had arecord-breaking year for passenger traffic in 2019.

Passengermovement through the Charlottetown Airport last yearwas up 3.4per cent from 2018 an increase of about 12,000 people.

Most of that growth can be attributed to increased capacity from Air Canada this past summer, as well as the addition of a second flight to Ottawa, said DougNewson,CEO of the Charlottetown Airport Authority.

"Obviously [we're] pleased to see that growth and pleased to see the airlines continuing to add more capacity and options for Islanders," he said.

With new WestJet flights to Calgary andthe introduction of Swoop, Newson said he's optimistic for 2020 as well.

Swoop will offer three flights a week to Hamilton, Ont., starting at the end of June. The flights will be offered Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from June 27 to Oct. 22.

"We haven't seen final schedules from all the carriers yet for the peak summer but we're certainly optimistic that 2020 should be another strong year for the airport," Newson said.

Thenew flights are expected to bring in 30,000 additional seats to the P.E.I. market in 2020.

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