U.S. air travel from Canada drops in April in the wake of trade tensions
While April was a busy month for Canada's airports, fewer travellers flew to the United States, a new report suggests. This comes in the wake of turbulence from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs war and annexation threats.
The number of passengers at Canadian airports who were screened to travel to the U.S. plunged in April, compared to a year ago, for the third straight month. However, traffic was up year-over-year for those who travelled domestically or internationally to non-U.S. destinations, Statistics Canada found in a new report released Monday.
Transborder traffic to the U.S. was 1.1 million in April, down 5.8 per cent from the same period last year, according to the data. The numbers were notably lower by 12.5 per cent compared to April 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, domestic passenger traffic in April was up by 7.4 per cent to two million compared to April 2024. This was also up 1.5 per cent compared to April 2019.
The number of passengers screened for international travel outside the U.S. rose by 7.1 per cent year-over-year in April to 1.4 million. What's more, the April number was significantly higher by 19 per cent compared to April 2019.
Statistics Canada didn't provide reasons behind the numbers in its report. The dip in U.S. travel comes as many Canadians have been boycotting American travel and products because of Trump's tariffs and threats to make Canada the 51st state.
Additionally, Canada's eight largest airports had more passenger traffic year-over-year.
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