In September, international arrivals to Canada—non-resident visitors and returning Canadians—more than tripled those arriving in September 2021, approaching but not yet reaching levels recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Compared with September 2021, there were three times (729,100) as many non-resident visitors arriving from abroad at Canadian airports equipped with electronic kiosks.
US residents took 824,400 trips to Canada through land ports with electronic sensors in September, over 470,000 more than in September 2021.
At the same time, the 1.1 million Canadian residents returning by air from visiting abroad via kiosk-equipped airports was almost three times greater than in September 2021.
Compared with September 2021, nearly 1.2 million more Canadian residents—for a total of over 1.4 million—returned from trips to the United States through land ports with electronic sensors.
Airport challenges continue as restrictions ending
Although air travel is approaching its 2019 pre-pandemic level, employment in the industry has continued to lag, leading to flight cancellations, long security queues, and lost luggage, impacting the largest airports the most. The current labour shortage is being felt across different airport-related occupations, including flight attendants, security screeners, and baggage handlers.
On September 26, 2022, the Government of Canada announced that as of October 1, all COVID-19 border requirements, including vaccination, mandatory use of the ArriveCAN app, and any testing and quarantine requirements will end for all travellers entering Canada whether by land, air, or sea.
Non-resident arrivals by air
Arrivals of non-resident visitors from overseas countries (362,100) and the United States (367,000) at Canadian airports equipped with primary inspection kiosks (PIKs) totalled 729,100 in September, almost three times the 243,500 such arrivals observed in September 2021.
With another monthly year-over-year increase, the number of non-resident arrivals by air continues to approach that observed during the same month in 2019, before the pandemic. However, the total for September 2022 includes arrivals at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1, which make up a sizeable portion of the total arrivals. The PIK system was implemented at Toronto Pearson Terminal 1 in June 2021.
US-resident arrivals by land
In September, US residents took over 824,400 trips to visit Canada crossing by automobile through land ports equipped with the automated Integrated Primary Inspection Line (IPIL) application. This was more than double the trips taken in September 2021 and represents two-thirds (66.6%) of the 1.2 million US-resident arrivals by automobile during the same month in 2019.
Canadians returning by air
In September, the number of Canadian residents returning by air from abroad and landing at airports equipped with PIKs was 1.1 million, up by almost 700,000 from September 2021 (430,900).
While the total arrivals appear to exceed the pre-pandemic levels observed in September 2019, note again that the September 2022 count includes international arrivals at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1.
Excluding Toronto Pearson Terminal 1, in September, as a whole, Canadian airports have recovered 85% of their 2019 pre-pandemic volume of Canadians returning from abroad.
Canadians returning by land
In September, 1.4 million Canadian residents returned from visiting the United States, crossing by automobile via IPIL-equipped land ports. Although this is an increase of nearly 1.2 million trips from September 2021 (259,400), it remains less than two-thirds (62.6%) of the 2.3 million trips recorded for the same month in 2019, before the pandemic.
