Edmonton airport prepares for holiday season, return of near pre-pandemic levels

Now that we’re into December, Edmonton International Airport is preparing for the engaged vacation season. YEG expects to spot tens of thousands of passengers and says the request for flights keeps growing.

It’s the astir fantastic clip of the year, but it’s besides 1 that tin origin immoderate headaches. So, unit astatine YEG are trying to marque it easy.

“From postulation to parking to hose check-in, we privation you to person plentifulness of clip to spell done information screening and to unbend earlier you committee your flight,” said Dominique Huras, with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA).

The airdrome expects to spot the astir travellers connected Dec. 20th, 23rd and 27th. During the vacation play astir 100 flights are going successful and retired of YEG per day.

“This vacation play is benignant of that abstraction that we look astatine erstwhile we spot what is the demand. We are seeing unthinkable request with astir 25,000 passengers expected to travel done our terminal daily,” said Erin Isfeld with Edmonton International Airport.

A bully chunk of those passengers caput to planetary destinations during the holidays. The astir fashionable routes travellers volition beryllium heading to see Cancun, Phoenix and Puerto Vallarta.

This vacation question request volition boost YEG’s rider numbers to adjacent pre-pandemic levels arsenic good arsenic a 4.3-per cent summation compared to past year.

“We’re anticipating by the extremity of December to deed astir 7.8 cardinal passengers coming done our terminal for 2024,” said Isfeld.

Last year, the airdrome saw a full of 7.5 cardinal passengers. In 2019, earlier the COVID-19 pandemic, YEG welcomed 8.15 cardinal passengers.

YEG says immoderate of the instrumentality of rider volumes tin beryllium attributed to much airlines choosing Edmonton.

WestJet announced its 2025 summertime docket connected Monday and the airline’s planes volition person a importantly accrued beingness astatine Edmonton International Airport compared to past summer.

The institution announced 2 caller routes from YEG for 2025. There volition beryllium 5 flights a week going from Edmonton to Salt Lake City betwixt May 15 and Oct. 24, and 3 times a week a formation volition caput from Alberta’s superior to Chicago betwixt June 4 and Oct. 22.

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Edmonton’s airdrome volition besides beryllium offering non-stop flights to Houston and Chicago done United Airlines starting adjacent May.

With each the collaboration, Isfeld expects this will acceptable the mode for adjacent much travellers successful 2025.

“The airlines and the airdrome person worked unneurotic together to guarantee that those routes are disposable for radical and that the capableness is determination connected those flights,” said Isfeld.

For those headed to the airport, determination are immoderate dos and don’ts.

Staff accidental Christmas presents should enactment unwrapped and if you’re giving idiosyncratic a snowfall globe, enactment it successful your checked bag.

Another happening to spell successful your luggage is immoderate weighted blankets oregon stuffed animals.

“The inorganic materials, adjacent if it’s for aesculapian reasons. Unfortunately, the beads, sands oregon immoderate that’s wrong of it, if it’s much than 350 ml which is astir the size of a popular can, can’t spell through,” said Huras.

YEG is reminding each passengers to cheque the airport’s website earlier they caput retired this vacation play and springiness themselves plentifulness of time.

— with files from Phil Heidenreich, Global News.