Edmonton’s passengers hit 6-year high with record international traffic; huge ambition for the future.

Edmonton International Airport (IATA code YEG) is Canada’s fifth-busiest airport. In 2025, YEG welcomed 8.14 million passengers, which was the highest figure in six years.

This growth was influenced by record-breaking international (non-US) traffic. It was also helped by the domestic market, which accounted for three-quarters of YEG’s throughput last year, being at the third-highest level to date.

YEG plays a critical role in reaching Canada’s North & Arctic

Edmonton is North America’s most northerly city with over one million people. YEG plays a critical role in moving people and goods between Canada’s North and Arctic areas with the rest of the country and beyond. The arrival of Air Tindi demonstrates this.

This role will become even more significant, as the Canadian government is investing considerably in the country’s North. As illustrations of this, Air North has announced a new route to Yellowknife, starting on 23 November 2026 (weekly). Meanwhile, on 25 October 2026, Air Canada will switch the 76-seat CRJ900 for the 137-seat A220-300 to Yellowknife (daily), providing 80% more seats.

YEG’s domestic development was assisted by the arrival of Air Tindi in April 2025. The regional operator has four non-stop and one-stop routes within Alberta and to the Northwest Territories. It serves Fort Chipewyan, Fort Smith, Hay River and Yellowknife.

YEG’s second-half seats have risen year-over-year

Cirium schedule data for the second half of 2026 (July to December) shows that YEG has 2.48 million one-way seats, up slightly year-over-year. When mainline, regional and other units are combined, 11 airlines serve the airport. They include three non-Canadian operators: Alaska Airlines, KLM and United Airlines.

With 47% of the available capacity, WestJet remains by far the leading operator. The airline has 37 routes in the examined period. Two new destinations have joined its network: Reykjavík (served through Keflavik) on 26 June 2026 (weekly) and Terrace on 19 May 2026 (2-weekly). Neither route has direct competition, while Terrace is brand-new to YEG’s map.

With 32% more seats year-over-year, Alaska Airlines is YEG’s fastest-growing airline. It has served the airport for decades and operates from its primary hub of Seattle. 2-daily flights are available in the summer and a daily operation in the winter, which is the same as last year. What is very different is the equipment. Mainline aircraft (mainly the Boeing 737-900ER) will be used for the first time. It’ll be deployed in the winter.

Porter has flown to YEG since 2023, which coincided with the arrival of the airline’s Embraer E195-E2s. In the second half of 2026, the airline has 184,000 one-way seats, which has risen by 24% year-over-year. This is because its network has grown from four domestic routes (Hamilton, Montreal YUL, Ottawa, Toronto YYZ) to nine airport pairs, including the first international services. The five new routes are:

• 16 June 2026: Montreal YHU (daily)
• 3 November 2026: Puerto Vallarta (3-weekly)
• 6 November 2026: Phoenix (4-weekly)
• 16 November 2026: Las Vegas (4-weekly)
• 16 November 2026: Los Cabos (4-weekly)

Critically, winter capacity to sun hotspots is up by nearly half in year

In the upcoming W26, YEG’s capacity to key outbound sun destinations in the US, Caribbean and Mexico has risen by a considerable 46% year-over-year. Cirium data shows that December 2026 through March 2027 will be YEG’s top four months on record.

Some of Porter’s new routes mentioned above has contributed to this growth, but all the other airlines have grown too. Air Canada has doubled its sun network with a new route to Jamaica. The airline last flew there 15 years ago. Meanwhile, Flair will reintroduce service to Cancun, having last served the ever-popular destination in April 2025. The carrier’s routes to Mexico have doubled.

• 7 December 2026: Air Canada to Montego Bay (weekly)
• 16 December 2026: Flair to Cancun (3-weekly)

While WestJet has not introduced any new winter route, its sun capacity has risen by 26% compared to W25. Particularly strong growth has been seen to Los Cabos (seats up by 106%), Phoenix (+49%), Puerto Vallarta (+29%) and Cancun (+22%).

Three new destinations have joined YEG’s map

Cirium shows that YEG has non-stop and one-stop, same-plane service to 62 destinations in the last six months of 2026. 39 are in Canada, 14 are in the US, and five are in Mexico, while one destination is served in each of the Dominican Republic, Iceland, Jamaica and the Netherlands. The long-haul link to Amsterdam contributes to YEG’s global connectivity, including across Europe and Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

Compared to July-December last year, YEG has welcomed three new destinations: Reykjavík, Montreal YHU and Terrace. Two long-haul destinations are now available: Amsterdam and Reykjavík. As such, YEG is massively underserved in this sense. Over 95% of long-haul passengers must connect en route.

Many destinations have seen capacity grow by 20%

Combined to the second half of 2025, particularly strong growth has been seen to multiple destinations, including Montego Bay (221% more seats), Los Cabos (+171%), Kamloops (+135%), Phoenix (+65%), Puerto Vallarta (+44%), Halifax (+30%), Huatulco (+25%), Yellowknife (+20%) and Houston IAH (+20%).

Vancouver replaces Toronto as YEG’s top market

With 552,000 one-way seats, Vancouver is now YEG’s most-served market. It has overtaken Toronto for the top spot. In August 2026, YEG had 155-weekly departures to British Columbia’s most populous city, which were provided by Air Canada (70), WestJet (65) and Flair (25). WestJet has added an additional 15-weekly departures year-over-year, while Air Canada was up by 14-weekly services.