2022 passenger numbers at Moncton airport better than expected

There's some positive news coming out of the second busiest airport in the Maritimes.

The Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport has released its passenger numbers for 2022 and they're better than expected.

Courtney Burns, the president and CEO of the Greater Moncton International Airport Authority, told CTV News on Tuesday the post-pandemic recovery is about a year ahead of schedule.

"We went into the year thinking we would get about 50 per cent of a pre-COVID year. We ended just shy of 70 per cent. So, it far exceeded our expectations. Really, a lot of it is attributed to the summer. We had a really strong summer in 2022," said Burns.

The preliminary count for passengers in 2022 was 468,821, up from 177,040 in 2021.

Burns thinks the momentum will continue into the new year.

"What we're expecting in 2023 is to hit as high as 90 per cent. Hoping we can even exceed that," said Burns. "It's much improved from what we would have thought even a year ago."

Passenger numbers at the Saint John Airport (YSJ) were not quite as good.

That airport was at 54 per cent of pre-pandemic numbers last year, but the airport authority anticipates it will improve.

It had 150,000 passengers last year, but was only expecting around 146,000.

Saint John Airport CEO Sandy Ross said he's optimistic about 2023 and beyond.

"There are certainly issues in the airline industry that need to be ironed out, but we are confident that YSJ will continue to build back,” said Ross in an email.

The Halifax Stanfield International Airport is expected to release its passenger numbers in the coming days.