The Ottawa Airport Authority hosted its Annual Public Meeting today. Board Chair Code Cubitt and President and CEO Mark Laroche discussed the highlights from 2022, recovery, and the exciting projects in 2023 and beyond. Coincident with the meeting, the Authority released both its 2022 Annual Report and its inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report.

2022 highlights included:

• 2.99M passengers served - 155% more passengers than in 2021;
• 30,000 metric tonnes of cargo moved through YOW, which is at par with 2021;
• Revenues of $111.8M, which were 97% higher than 2021;
• Earnings before depreciation of $25.7M was recorded as compared to a loss of $5.4M in 2021;
• Net loss of $4.8M as compared to $36.7M in 2021;
• Welcomed remote employees back on-site with a Hybrid Work Policy;
• Completed $15M construction of Taxiway Romeo;
• Completed $8M rehabilitation work on taxiways A, M, AA, BB, and CC – which received partial ($3.9M) federal government Airports Critical Infrastructure Program (ACIP) funding; 
• Inaugural member of the Government of Canada’s Net-Zero Challenge with a commitment to achieve zero emmissions from direct operations by 2040 or sooner;
• Partnered with Hydro Ottawa to explore decarbonisation opportunities;
• Porter broke ground on its YOW hangar facility (more than 150,000 ft2) to serve as the primary light maintenance base for its new Embraer E195-E2 fleet;
• YOW’s route network continued to rebuild, including a robust winter charter offering;
• Paradies Lagardère opened the iStore and No Boundaries boutiques in the Canada/International gate area; and
• Construction began on the Centre Court’s Canal Market Hall in the Canada/International gate area.

About 2023:

• Porter Airlines introduced its new Embraer E195-E2 jets on February 1;
• Air France non-stop to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport to commence June 27;

• Canal Market Hall, including Big Rig restaurant, opening this summer;
• Putting ESG program into action;
• Taxiway E reconstruction project;
• Introduction of YOW’s Accessibility Plan;
• Opening the LRT Airport Terminal Station; and
• Launching a new Purpose Statement to entrench our role in the community.

Quotes:

“2022 was an incredible year! Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the team, the Authority deftly handled unprecedented weather events like the derecho in May, completed major infrastructure projects such as Taxiway Romeo and the LRT Airport Terminal Station, and attracted new businesses and partners such as Air France to the airport, among many other accomplishments. The future is incredibly bright, and I look forward to continued recovery and blue skies for YOW in 2023.” 

- Code Cubitt, Chair of the Airport Authority Board Chair

“We still have some recovery ahead of us, but we are planning for a future that is bigger and better, building on the successes of 2022. With Porter Airlines and Air France both betting on YOW, our route map growing back, our concession program advancing and putting our ESG program into action, we have interesting times and hard work ahead. Most importantly, we are looking forward to resuming our role as an important economic engine for the Region with expanded reach and local returns.”

- Mark Laroche, President and CEO of the Airport Authority

-30-