Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport is the seventh busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic, serving 4,305,744 passengers in 2017, and the 11th busiest airport by aircraft movements.
As per Armstrong Airport authorities, more than 1.1 million travelers in the first three months of 2019 went through the airport. That is very impressive, up 7.5 percent, increase from last year.
By the end of March, the numbers were trending even higher, with a 9.5 percent increase.
The reconstruction of one of two runways at Winnipeg’s airport this summer means the area under one flight path over the city will see a drop in air traffic, while another will see an increase.
Freight transport is up this year as well — the WAA measures freight performance by the average weight of a flight at takeoff, and Winnipeg’s flights are seeing a nine percent weight spike in 2019.
The Winnipeg Airports Authority said the runway rehabilitation is expected to be complete by September and won’t lead to a reduction in service. During construction, all flights will use the airport’s other runway and the corresponding flight path will be busier.
Also, Winnipeg Airport is the first in North America to use the unmanned snow plow machine, called Otto. Otto does not require a driver to move and do the job. It was developed by Northstar Robotics together with engineers from the Airport Technologies.