Stéphane Leclair

New data from Statistics Canada shows that passenger screening at Canada’s largest airports not only recovered in 2025, but surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The country’s eight biggest airports screened 58.2 million passengers, driven by strong domestic and non-U.S. international travel. While overall volumes are rising, declines in U.S.-bound traffic and uneven regional performance signal a shifting demand mix that airports must plan for heading into future peak seasons.

Airports are facing growing challenges capturing movement revenue from general aviation, charter, and non-regular flights, where limited visibility and obscured ownership make retroactive billing inefficient. In-person (cash) billing before departure is emerging as a practical solution to close revenue gaps, but only when operational complexity is minimized. Tools like AARMS now help airports enable accurate, real-time fee collection without simply.

Airlines are increasingly using alternate certified MTOWs to reduce weight-based fees, adjusting aircraft weight variants to match seasonal or route needs. While fully compliant, these shifts can significantly reduce airport landing-fee revenue and add administrative complexity. As more carriers adopt MTOW optimization, airports must account for variable certified weights in forecasting and fee-structure planning.