Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport

YWG is a major contributor to the Manitoba economy – generating employment in sectors such as air services, facilities, hospitality, manufacturing, and ground transportation. YWG provides essential infrastructure that links Winnipeg and other Manitoba communities to cities around the world, making it an important component of Canada’s trade and commerce with other countries.

Passenger traffic at YWG has grown considerably over the last decade, fuelled largely by increasing demand for domestic travel. The airport was on-track for another year of growth in 2019 but was set back by the grounding of the 737 MAX in March of the same year. The grounding forced airlines to cut capacity on many routes and adjust flight schedules to accommodate the reduced availability of aircraft.

Figure 1-1 displays the passenger traffic at YWG from 2010 to 2019. YWG is the seventh busiest airport in Canada by passenger volume (see Figure 1-2).

Figure 1‑1: Growth of Air Passenger Traffic at YWG, 2010-2019

^{Source: WAA.}

Figure 1-2: Canada’s Busiest Airports by Passenger Volume, 2017 & 2018

^{Source: Airport websites, traffic statistics.}

A summary of the summer air services to Winnipeg in July 2016 and July 2019 is outlined in Figure 1-3. The table suggests that carriers have added capacity on key domestic routes and increased services to Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Figure 1-3: Direct Non-stop Scheduled Seats Arriving at YWG, July 2016 and July 2019

^{Source: Diio Mi based on summer services for the weeks of 11 July 2016 and 8 July 2019.}