The Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA), the operator of Canada’s largest airport, reported on Wednesday a net loss of approximately $383 million in 2020 primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a press release, the GTAA saw a significant decrease in revenue during the first year of the pandemic, going from about $1.5 billion in total revenue in 2019 to about $823 million in 2020.
Passenger activity also decreased by 73.6 per cent during 2020 when compared to 2019. The GTAA reported a total of 13.3 million domestic and international passengers in 2020, down from the previous year, which saw 50.5 million domestic and international passengers.
“Our full-year passenger and financial results make clear the impact that COVID-19 has had on Toronto Pearson,” Deborah Flint, the president and chief executive officer of the GTAA, said in a press release.
The GTAA said that it implemented significant reductions to operating and capital expenditures, including a reduction in capital spending by $265 million and temporarily closed over 40 per cent of its terminal facilities. The GTAA also cut 27 per cent of its workforce by eliminating about 500 jobs in July 2020.
A man makes his way through Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)
The Canadian government waived ground lease rent for the period of March 2020 to December 2020, and deferred ground lease payments for 2021 to be repaid over a ten year period starting in 2024. In addition, the GTAA is participating in the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy program.
“While we have pushed toward leading hygiene practices, and advocated for a stronger approach to passenger testing, there is more that must be done with our government and aviation sector partners to develop a recovery framework that permits the safe restart of air travel,” Flint said.
“Canada’s airports must be given the tools they require to rebound in a post-COVID world or our aviation sector and the country’s competitiveness will suffer.”
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