Hamilton International Airport sees considerable cargo traffic from shipping companies such as Amazon, Canada Post, Cargojet, DHL, Purolator, Prime Air, and UPS. Photo credit: Facebook/Hamilton International Airport
The latest data from Statistics Canada shows that John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (YHM) is outpacing the rest of the country in air cargo traffic. The 2021 data, which was released in December 2022, shows that YHM saw a 59 per cent increase in cargo traffic between 2017 and 2021 in cargo traffic.
The nearly 60 per cent increase compares to an average 3 per cent decline across Canada over the same time period.
“This steady growth in cargo activity can be attributed to the accelerated shift to e-commerce, alongside the increased demand and movement of a variety of essential medical supplies during the pandemic,” said Cole Horncastle, Executive Managing Director at YHM.
“As the largest domestic overnight express cargo airport and the third largest cargo freight airport in Canada, Hamilton International is a key economic driver and vital transportation hub for the Hamilton region and across Ontario.”
Hamilton International Airport sees considerable cargo traffic from shipping companies such as Amazon, Canada Post, Cargojet, DHL, Purolator, Prime Air, and UPS.
YHM’s 2021 Economic Impact Study found that the airport accounts for 4,720 jobs and $1.5 billion in total economic output, with 2,770 jobs and $1 billion of that output directly attributed to the cargo business.
Cargo operations at the airport have also experienced a 29 per cent growth in employment, labour income, value-added, and industry activity over the past five years.
The airport’s success is partly attributed to its strategic location, with close proximity to Ontario’s 400-series highways, the Greater Toronto Area, and the United States border being significant advantages.
“Hamilton International is a thriving multi-modal hub and has become one of the fastest-growing cargo airports in Canada. We are proud to work with numerous cargo partners to ensure Ontarians can ship and receive the goods they need reliably, safely, and efficiently,” added Horncastle.
“The Airport is a vital gateway in Southern Ontario’s strategic transportation corridor and looks forward to continuing to grow cargo and passenger activity in the years to come.”
In addition to its cargo capacity, the airport is becoming increasingly known for its affordable passenger service.
It offers passenger flights through Air Transat, Sunwing Airlines, Swoop, WestJet, and Lynx Air.
Additionally, Play Airlines, a low-cost airline based in Iceland, recently announced that they are launching flights from Hamilton to Europe this June. Their website is already open for booking, with the first flight service from YHM scheduled for June 22, 2023.
The airport is also set to receive $23.5 million for upgrades from the federal government. The $23.5 million investment will help fund a $47 million project to allow the airport to handle increased cargo operations by improving and expanding airfield capacity, increasing de-icing capacity, and building a new independent service road to reduce congestion.
The project will reportedly create 460 construction jobs and over 1,800 permanent jobs by 2025.
While the airport received $18.5 million in 2019 for an upgrade of two main runways, taxiways, and lighting systems, the continued growth has resulted in the need for further upgrades.
Hamilton International Airport itself, originally known as Mount Hope Airport, opened in 1940 as a Royal Canadian Airforce Base to train pilots for deployment in World War II.
The airport is the third largest cargo airport after Toronto-Pearson and Vancouver International Airport, respectively.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
