Airplane driving to terminal at sunset
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto’s Pearson International Airport has surpassed the 40-million mark in annual passenger traffic, making it the first Canadian airport to do so.

Canada’s largest airport has been experiencing unprecedented growth in passenger numbers in 2015, with year-to-date growth averaging nearly 7%. The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which operates Toronto Pearson, estimates that the airport will reach more than 41 million passengers before the end of 2015.

“Reaching 40 million passengers at Toronto Pearson is symbolic of the growth of our region,” said Howard Eng, president and CEO of the GTAA. “This airport is among the fastest growing in North America, giving passengers the ability to reach more than 65% of the world’s economy through daily, non-stop flights from Toronto. Our success would not be possible without our key domestic carriers Air Canada and WestJet, as well as the hard work of all 40,000 employees at Toronto Pearson.”

Last year, Pearson was the second-fastest growing airport in North America, growing at a rate of 6.8%. It was second only to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at 7%.

Pearson is a major job creator, with 40,000 employed at the airport and an additional 227,000 jobs created throughout the region by its operations. According to a report released by the Neptis Foundation, the employment “mega zone” around Pearson is the second-largest employment area in the country, second only to downtown Toronto, and is larger than the central business districts of Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver.

Toronto Pearson is now second only to John F Kennedy for international passenger traffic and often surpasses JFK for the number of destinations it flies to each year (this shifts seasonally).