By: Phil Froats

For the first four months of 2009, Statistics Canada reported that commercial aircraft movements at Canada’s major airports declined 4.2% compared to the like period last year. The five busiest airports saw a weighted average drop of 4.9% with Vancouver International registering the largest falls on a percentage basis and in the actual number of aircraft.

Airports are big business. The authorities responsible for the five airports below had 2008 revenues totaling $2,286,911,000. The Greater Toronto Airports Authority alone posted almost $1,200,000,000 in revenue of which $447,062,000 was in landing fees. 

Along with the decline in traffic due to the economy, airports like Toronto and Vancouver which are close to the U.S. border face additional challenges. A search on www.expedia.ca shows that a round trip flight with one stop to Las Vegas costs $438 out of Toronto and $439 from Vancouver. If you take the flights out of Buffalo or Seattle, they cost $285 and $219 respectively. That means a savings of $306 to $440 per couple which goes a long way toward paying for an Elvis wedding.