Canada Air Travel Guide

Canada's Aviation Geography and Key Hubs

Canada's vast geography—the world's second-largest country by total area at 9.98 million square kilometers—makes aviation the only practical transport option for many domestic journeys. The country's aviation network is anchored by five major hub airports: Toronto Pearson International (YYZ), Vancouver International (YVR), Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International (YUL), Calgary International (YYC), and Edmonton International Airport (YEG). Toronto Pearson is by far the largest, handling over 45 million passengers annually, and serves as Air Canada's primary long-haul hub with connections to over 180 destinations on six continents.

Vancouver International (YVR) is Air Canada's Pacific gateway, with non-stop services to Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Sydney, and multiple Chinese secondary cities. YVR consistently wins the award for best airport in North America at the Skytrax World Airport Awards—its Sea Island location, distinctive First Nations artwork throughout the terminal, and efficient processing make it one of North America's most pleasant airports to use. The Canada Line rapid transit connects YVR to downtown Vancouver in 26 minutes for CAD 4.

Calgary (YYC) and Edmonton (YEG) serve Alberta's oil-industry-driven economy with high-frequency services to Toronto, Vancouver, and international destinations. Both airports handle significant charter traffic related to oil sands work camps in northern Alberta. Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International (YWG), Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier (YOW), Quebec City Jean Lesage (YQB), Halifax Stanfield (YHZ), and St. John's International (YYT) complete the network of major Canadian airports serving provincial capitals and major cities.

Air Canada and WestJet: The Domestic Duopoly

Air Canada, a Star Alliance founding member, operates Canada's most extensive domestic network alongside its intercontinental long-haul routes. Its Aeroplan loyalty program is one of North America's most flexible—points expire only with 12 months of inactivity and can be earned through a wide partner ecosystem including Chase, CIBC, and TD credit cards in Canada. Air Canada's Signature Class business product on long-haul routes features fully lie-flat seats; its economy product on domestic routes uses a mix of narrow-body and turboprop aircraft depending on route length.

WestJet, headquartered in Calgary, is Canada's second-largest carrier and historically positioned as a low-cost alternative to Air Canada. WestJet has evolved toward a more hybrid model, launching WestJet Rewards and introducing premium cabin products. Its subsidiary Swoop (now merged back into WestJet) provided ultra-low-cost capacity on leisure routes. Porter Airlines, operating primarily from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ)—accessible by ferry from downtown—serves eastern Canadian cities and select US destinations with a distinctive premium economy cabin on its De Havilland Dash 8 and Embraer E195-E2 fleet.

Canada's domestic fares are significantly higher per kilometer than comparable US or European routes, a function of limited competition on many thin routes and higher operating costs. The Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), updated in 2019 and again in 2023, provide Canadian passengers with compensation rights for flight delays, cancellations, and denied boarding—broadly similar to EU261 protections in Europe. Passengers delayed more than 3 hours due to airline-controllable reasons are entitled to compensation of CAD 125–1,000 depending on delay length.

Cross-Border Tips: Flying Between Canada and the United States

US–Canada air travel is facilitated by numerous Canadian airports with US Customs Pre-Clearance facilities. Toronto Pearson, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Halifax, and Quebec City all operate CBP preclearance, allowing US-bound passengers to clear American immigration in Canada. This means arriving at US airports through domestic terminals, significantly reducing arrival time, particularly at busy US airports like JFK, O'Hare, or LAX where international arrivals queues can exceed 90 minutes.

Canadian citizens and permanent residents traveling to the United States require a valid passport. The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is not required for Canadian citizens—Canada is a Visa Waiver Program country, and Canadians enter the US under a separate arrangement requiring no advance registration for stays under 180 days. However, NEXUS card holders can use dedicated NEXUS lanes at CBP preclearance facilities, significantly reducing processing times at busy periods. The NEXUS card is valid for US–Canada travel only and costs CAD 50 for five years.

Cross-border one-way tickets are priced differently than return tickets in the US–Canada market. Booking a separate one-way fare on each direction is sometimes cheaper than a round trip, particularly when mixing carriers (Air Canada one way, WestJet the other). Air Canada and WestJet both codeshare with major US carriers—Air Canada with United, WestJet with Delta—enabling seamless ticketing and baggage transfer for connecting journeys. American Airlines also operates extensively into Canada from its US hubs, often providing competitive fares on cross-border city pairs.

Northern and Remote Canada: Essential Aviation Communities

For communities in Canada's North—the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut territories, as well as northern Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Labrador—aviation is not a convenience but a lifeline. Over 200 First Nations and northern communities have no road access and depend entirely on air transportation for food, medical supplies, fuel, mail, and personnel. Air North (Yukon's Airline), Canadian North, Air Inuit, Air Creebec, and Wasaya Airways operate these essential routes, often subsidized by federal and territorial governments.

Whitehorse Erik Nielsen International Airport (YXY) in the Yukon and Yellowknife Airport (YZF) in the Northwest Territories serve as regional hubs for the territorial north. Iqaluit (YFB), the capital of Nunavut, is accessible by air only—no road, rail, or ferry connection exists to the territorial capital. Canadian North and First Air (now merged as Canadian North) operate jet services between Iqaluit, Ottawa, and Montreal. Cold Lake (CFQ), Resolute Bay (YRB), and Eureka (YEU) in the High Arctic are served by charter and military aircraft, with scheduled services to some communities only weekly.

Winter flying conditions in Canada demand preparation. Arctic Canada experiences extreme cold (below -40°C at some locations), blizzards, and reduced daylight in December–January. Aircraft de-icing is mandatory before winter departures and adds time to pre-departure procedures. Airports in northern Canada can be closed by blizzards for 24–48 hours at a time. If traveling to remote Canadian destinations in winter for time-sensitive purposes, always build buffer days into your schedule and purchase comprehensive trip interruption insurance.