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Toronto Pearson International Airport, also known as Lester B. Pearson International Airport, is the largest and busiest airport in Canada. It is located in Mississauga, about 20 kilometres west of Toronto, and has five runways and two active terminals. In 2023, the airport saw 43.7 million passengers, a 24.8% increase from the previous year. Toronto Pearson serves as a hub for major Canadian airlines and offers extensive cargo operations. Vancouver International Airport is the second busiest airport in Canada, with nearly 20 million passengers and 310,139 aircraft movements in 2014. Calgary International Airport is the fourth busiest airport in Canada, serving as a hub for Air Canada and offering nonstop flights to various destinations worldwide.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Busiest airport in Canada | Toronto Pearson International Airport |
| Location of Toronto Pearson International Airport | Mississauga, Ontario |
| Distance from downtown Toronto | 16-20 km |
| Number of runways | 5 |
| Number of terminals | 2 |
| Passenger traffic in 2024 | 46.8 million |
| Passenger traffic in 2023 | 29% of all Canadian air travellers |
| Passenger traffic in 2021 | 3.24 billion ton-kilometers of cargo |
| Second busiest airport in Canada | Vancouver International Airport |
| Third busiest airport in Canada | Montréal-Trudeau Airport |
| Fourth busiest airport in Canada | Calgary International Airport |
| Fifth busiest airport in Canada | Edmonton International Airport |
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What You'll Learn
Toronto Pearson Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Canada, handling 46.8 million passengers in 2024. It is located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and serves as the main airport for Toronto and its metropolitan area, as well as the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. The airport is named after Lester B. Pearson, the 14th Prime Minister of Canada and the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize laureate for his humanitarian work in peacekeeping.
The airport is situated 25 kilometres (16 miles) northwest of downtown Toronto in Mississauga, with a small portion of the airfield extending into Toronto's western district of Etobicoke. It has five runways and two passenger terminals (Terminal 1 and Terminal 3), along with numerous cargo, maintenance, and aerospace production facilities. The site covers 1,867 hectares (4,613 acres) and is operated by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) as part of Transport Canada's National Airports System.
Toronto Pearson serves as a hub for several airlines, including Air Canada, Porter Airlines, WestJet, Air Transat, and Flair Airlines. As of 2025, more than 50 airlines operate non-stop or direct flights from Pearson to over 180 destinations across all six inhabited continents. The airport offers an extensive network of non-stop domestic flights to all major and many secondary cities across Canada.
Toronto Pearson has a Traffic Management Unit (TMU) located in the apron control tower at Terminal 1 to control aircraft and ground traffic. During winter, the airport deploys a dedicated 24-hour snow removal team to ensure normal operations, as it typically experiences heavy snow accumulation. The airport also has a range of facilities, including long-term parking, curbside pick-up, duty-free shopping, and dining options. Passengers can also utilise the Union Pearson Express (UP Express), an airport rail link connecting Pearson Airport to Union Station in downtown Toronto, providing a 25-minute travel time.
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Vancouver International Airport
The airport covers approximately 1,340 hectares (3,311 acres) and has two terminals: the Main Terminal and the South Terminal. The main terminal, completed in 1968, has been expanded to include separate domestic and international concourses, with the latter designed by Vancouver-based Architectura (now Stantec) and Kansas City-based HNTB Corporation. The South Terminal, along with the adjacent floatplane docks, is referred to as "Airport South" by management.
The airport has a 22-kilometre (14-mile) system of dikes to protect it from potential climate change-induced extreme weather events, and it has committed to being Net Zero by 2030.
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Calgary International Airport
Toronto–Pearson International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Canada, serving 46.8 million passengers in 2024. Vancouver International Airport is the second busiest, serving as a hub for flights to Asia and Oceania. Montréal-Trudeau has also witnessed substantial growth, now serving over 22 million passengers annually.
The airport offers nonstop flights to various destinations in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia. The airport's history dates back to 1956 when a new passenger terminal was constructed, leading to significant growth in passenger traffic. In 1962, the airport was officially named Calgary International Airport, though it did not receive federal "International" status until 1969. The airport has undergone expansions and upgrades over the years, including the construction of a new terminal in 1977, which remains the core of the domestic terminal today.
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Edmonton International Airport
The airport opened on November 15, 1960, with its first terminal being an arch hangar. Soon after, it began offering international flights, with Canadian Pacific Airlines operating nonstop flights to Amsterdam with Bristol Britannia turboprop aircraft several times a week. By 1961, Canadian Pacific introduced Douglas DC-8 jetliners on the same route. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Pacific Western Airlines operated Boeing 707 charter flights from the airport to the UK and other destinations in Europe. In 1963, a new passenger terminal, built in the international style, was opened and remains in use as the North Terminal.
During the 1970s, the airport experienced rapid growth in traffic as the city of Edmonton grew, serving approximately 2 million passengers by 1980. However, from the early 1980s until 1995, traffic declined due to the continued use of the Edmonton City Centre Airport and a slowing economy. Growth returned in 1995, and in 1998, the airport began a $282 million redevelopment project, which included the construction of the south terminal, a commuter facility, and a multistorey parkade.
Today, the airport continues to offer a range of domestic and international flights, with nonstop service to destinations in North America, Central America, Europe, and Asia. It has two active terminals, Terminal 1 and the North Terminal, and is well-equipped to handle passenger and cargo traffic, contributing significantly to Canada's aviation industry.
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Montreal-Trudeau Airport
Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, also known as Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, is one of the busiest airports in Canada. It is named after Pierre Trudeau, the 15th Prime Minister of Canada. The airport is managed and operated by Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), a not-for-profit corporation, along with Montréal–Mirabel, which is located northwest of Montreal and primarily handles cargo and private flights. Montréal–Trudeau is owned by Transport Canada and is leased to Aéroports de Montréal for 60 years, in accordance with Canada's National Airport Policy of 1994.
Montréal–Trudeau is the busiest airport in the province of Quebec and the third busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic, handling 22.4 million passengers in 2024. On average, 58,000 passengers transit through the airport daily, with a high proportion of international travellers. It is one of the main gateways into Canada, with 15.79 million, or 71% of its passengers, on non-domestic flights, the highest percentage among Canadian airports. The airport has risen to become the 5th busiest transatlantic hub in North America, with the route between Montreal and Paris being the busiest international route in Canada and the 6th busiest from North America, serving over 1.5 million passengers annually.
Montréal–Trudeau is one of three Air Canada hubs and serves primarily Quebec, the Atlantic Provinces, and Eastern Ontario. Airlines operating from the airport offer direct flights to five continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. It is one of only two airports in Canada with non-stop flights to all five continents, the other being Toronto Pearson International Airport. The airport serves as the headquarters for Air Canada, Air Inuit, and Air Transat, and is an operating base for Porter Airlines.
The history of Montréal–Trudeau International Airport dates back to November 1960, when it was renamed Montreal–Dorval International Airport. A new $30 million terminal was inaugurated, which, at the time, was the largest terminal in Canada and one of the biggest in the world. It served as the primary gateway to Canada for European air traffic, handling over two million passengers annually. In 1975, the Trudeau government developed the Montréal–Mirabel International Airport to accommodate the expected growth in international traffic and to eventually replace Dorval. However, Montréal–Dorval was repurposed to handle domestic and transborder flights to the United States.
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