Canada’s best and worst airports for Indian travelers


  • Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport is crowned as Canada’s best airport – boasting 15 hotels within a two-mile radius
  • Saint John Airport was revealed as the worst airport in Canada, with zero airport lounges and only one dining facility available
  • Factors such as dining facilities, hotels within a two-mile radius, and the number of outbound direct flight destinations were taken into consideration

A new data index by CasinosHunter reveals Canada's best and worst airports for Indians traveling this summer.

 

The experts have compiled a study by taking all 25 operating airports across Canada and ranking each destination against six determining factors to receive a score out of 100. 

 

Rankings are based on six factors including the number of outbound direct flight destinations, number of lounges, number of dining facilities, on-site car rental companies, hotels within a two-mile radius, and operating airlines.

 

Lounges, dining facilities, and hotels have been judged compared to how many yearly passengers go through each airport. 

 

The best and worst Canadian airports

 

Rank – Overall 

Airport 

IATA 

Index – overall score out of 100 

Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport 

YXE 

72.11  

Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport 

YQB 

69.20  

St. John's International Airport 

YYT 

60.96  

Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport 

YOW 

52.66  

Thunder Bay International Airport 

YQT 

52.48  

Toronto Pearson International Airport 

YYZ 

52.33  

Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport 

YUL 

51.65  

Vancouver International Airport 

YVR 

51.08  

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport 

YWG 

49.48  

10 

Greater Moncton International Airport 

YQM 

47.93  

11 

Calgary International Airport 

YYC 

47.81  

12 

Edmonton International Airport 

YEG 

47.49  

13 

Halifax Stanfield International Airport 

YHZ 

47.40  

14 

Yellowknife Airport 

YZF 

44.21  

15 

London International Airport 

YXU 

37.62  

16 

Victoria International Airport 

YYJ 

35.67  

17 

Gander International Airport 

YQX 

33.57  

18 

Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport 

YXY 

32.62  

19 

Charlottetown Airport 

YYG 

30.41  

20 

Kelowna International Airport 

YLW 

29.10  

21 

Iqaluit Airport 

YFB 

28.27  

22 

Prince George Airport 

YXS 

27.92  

23 

Fredericton International Airport 

YFC 

25.79  

24 

Regina International Airport 

YQR 

22.36  

25 

Saint John Airport 

YSJ 

22.08 

 

Best airports

 

Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport (YXE) is officially the best airport in Canada, scoring 72.11 out of 100.

With around 930,000 passengers passing through every year, YXE airport has 24 destinations passengers can fly to and a total of 15 hotels within a two-mile radius. 

 

The airport also has one lounge and five different dining facilities. Reviews for YXE are great on Google – “Great airport. I have been using it for years and it's come along way. It's nice and new. Easy to get around and nice spacious gates. I especially like the text parking spot in front that allows you to wait for guests instead of paying for parking.”

 

Ranking the second best airport is Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB), scoring 69.20 out of 100.

 

YQB has 12 operating airlines and 34 destinations on offer for its 1.1 million annual passengers. The airport also has eight dining facilities, seven on-site car rental companies, and 10 hotels within a two-mile radius.

 

St. John’s International Airport (YYT) ranks in third, achieving a score of 60.96 out of 100, it has two hotels within a two-mile radius and 23 destinations for passengers to choose from.

 

YYT also has nine dining facilities, operates with eight airlines, and has one lounge and seven on-site car rental companies.

 

Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW) is the fourth-best Canadian airport, with a score of 52.66 out of 100.

 

With just under 3 million passengers passing annually, YOW travels to 41 destinations and operates with 11 different airlines. 

 

With eight on-site car rental companies and 11 dining facilities, passengers have a lot to choose from.

 

Thunder Bay International Airport (YQT) is ranked in the top five, scoring 52.48 out of 100.

 

YQT offers passengers 20 different destinations and operates with 16 different airlines. Whilst wifi is available and there are four dining facilities, this airport does not have any lounges.

 

Rounding out the top ten best airports are Toronto Pearson International Airport, Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, and Greater Moncton International Airport.

 

The worst airports

 

Saint John Airport (YSJ) is ranked as the worst airport in the study, with no airport lounge available and only one dining facility.

 

Scoring 22.08 out of 100, YSJ operates with two airlines and flies to three destinations. It has three hotels within a two-mile radius and five on-site car rental companies.

 

Regina International Airport (YQR) is the second worst airport, scoring 22.36 out of 100, it has one lounge and travels to seventeen destinations. YQR has four dining facilities and five hotels within a two-mile radius.

 

Fredericton International Airport (YFC) is the third worst airport, with zero lounges available and one dining facility, the airport scored 25.79 out of 100. 

 

YFC operates four airlines, flies to eight destinations, and has five on-site car rental companies. 

 

Prince George Airport (YXS) is the fourth worst airport, scoring 27.92 out of 100. YXS does not have any hotels within a two-mile radius and travels to eight destinations in total.

 

YXS operates with six airlines and has three dining facilities for passengers.

 

Iqaluit Airport (FYB) is the fifth worst airportscoring 28.27 out of 100. FYB has just one dining facility and no lounges. It also has just one on-site car rental company and two hotels within a two-mile radius.

 

Rounding out the top ten worst airports are Victoria International Airport, Gander International Airport, Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport, Charlottetown Airport, and Kelowna International Airport. 

 

Mike Hunter, Founder of CasinosHunter has commented on the study findings:

 

“A trip to Canada should be an exciting, stress-free experience. Therefore, when choosing your Canadian destination, it is always good to choose a destination airport you feel comfortable flying into. 

 

“Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport has great reviews on Google, achieving 4.2 out of 5, and recently received $1.76 million from the federal government for renovations.

 

“International airports often have a diverse selection of airlines and routes, and it is important for airports to be well-connected to various destinations, particularly Canadian ones.

 

Reports have found that in 2022, nearly 117.3 million passengers boarded and disembarked planes at Canadian airports.

 

“As airports continue to fund and expand their facilities, we hope developments should help to make passenger’s travelling experience into Florida more seamless.”

Author: Divya Singh