Hamilton International Airport sees jump in cargo flights due to pandemic

Hamilton's international airport saw 66 per cent fewer passengers last year, but 24 per cent more landed cargo aircraft billable weight, including online shopping and orders for personal protective equipment (PPE).

In a Thursday presentation to the city's airport subcommittee, president Cathie Puckering said the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport moved 658,202,000 kilograms in total cargo aircraft billable weight in 2020. That's compared to 532,235 kilograms the previous year.

And more than 100 flights in 2020 were inbound from China, carrying medical supplies and PPE for Canada's health-care sector.

"Our cargo operators are expanding their facilities. Some of them are at capacity during peak, and they are also considering fleet expansions as well," Puckering said.

In October, director of business development Dina Carlucci said the airport was running at cargo traffic levels normally only seen at Christmas.

In December, the airport received the country's first shipment of Pfizer vaccines from the U.S.

Puckering said the airport also expanded international routes, with flights to Heathrow Airport in the U.K. and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Ridership plummets

While cargo flights helped the airport, ridership plummeted.

Puckering said the airport was on track to have a fourth consecutive record-breaking year for passenger traffic before the pandemic began.

In 2019, there were 955,373 passengers. But the travel restrictions in 2020 and public health measures saw that number fall to 329,193.

"Our travellers visit family friends ... so we weren't exposed to the same types of reductions that you would see from the business community that stopped travelling," she said.

The airport's total revenue was $6,018,000. That's $2,391,000 less than 2019.

Swoop adding new routes to Hamilton airport

Charles Duncan, president and CEO of Swoop Airlines, said the company is adding routes to the city's airport.

"We'll be servicing Kelowna and Winnipeg from Hamilton," he said during the meeting.

"We're quite hopeful that both ... will be able to tap into that pent up demand for people to connect with family and loved ones."

Duncan said he thinks the flight industry will fare better in the winter.

Coun. Lloyd Ferguson (Ward 12, Ancaster) asked Duncan if Swoop will add more routes to Hamilton after previously reducing the number of flights to one.

Duncan emphasized the airline never left Hamilton and never will.

He added the city should look for ways to make the airport more attractive for travellers.