A successful year for Windsor International Airport.
2025 is tracking to be one of the busiest travel years on record for YQG.
Mark Galvin, President and CEO at YQG says the airport is trending 22 per cent higher than in 2024 in total aircraft movements.
According to Statistics Canada, YQG had a total of 41,180 aircraft movements in 2024, and between January and September of 2025, there have already been 39,941 total aircraft movements.
YQG offers flights with a range of airlines such as Air Canada, WestJet, and Porter to major airports in Toronto and Calgary. Seasonal routes are also offered to Varadero, Cuba and Cancun, Mexico.
Galvin says they're finally seeing real improvements following the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We're gradually getting back some of our commercial travel - our commercial profile - as Air Canada has announced a third flight coming starting May 1 to Toronto. Air Transat is coming back this week. We had our Sun Destination with WestJet/Sunwing start last week to Varadero, Cuba, and to Cancun. So, it's incremental growth but it's good growth when you can be on the positive side of it."
He says they've seen an uptick in cargo planes in Windsor.
"I've seen more cargo in the last eight to nine months than I have in the previous four years, which is probably a little bit to do with different posturing with what's going on in the tariff economy."
Galvin says they stopped providing direct flights to Punta Cana in 2018, and since then residents have been asking for it back.
"We certainly had some data that showed that could be successful. You rely on the data, you rely on the community, you look at what the community is asking for, and then you have to have a dance partner... and then they monitor them and see how they're doing, and I think everybody is pretty happy right now with the flight loads from Windsor."
The first flight from Windsor to Punta Cana through Air Transat will take place on Friday, Dec. 19.
Those flights will run every Friday until April 10.
-with files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides