Calgary airport braces for 50,000 passengers on year's busiest travel day

The busiest day of the year at the Calgary International Airport coincided on Friday with a big milestone as the 16-millionth traveller of 2017 passed through YYC.

More than 50,000 passengers were expected to either take off from or land in Calgary on Dec. 22, compared with 40,000 on a typical day, said the airport's chief financial officer, Robert Palmer.

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New York bound passenger Lachlan Johns said things were going smoothly so far, despite flying on the busiest day.

"So far it's been good. Hopefully we're here early enough that we're beating the rush," he said.

Robbie Bailey said he'd take the crowds in stride.

"I think I've made my peace with it. The reward's worth the headache. It's all good," he said.

Traffic picked up at YYC by about 3.5 per cent in 2017 as Alberta's economy continued to recover from the recession, Palmer said.

"We're starting to see things turn around a bit," he said.

"We're expecting to see three to four per cent growth again next year.

As the economy picks up we could see that number increase."

Over the past 20 years, YYC has doubled in size and passenger volume, and its new international terminal positions it for even more growth, the airport said in a release.

The$2-billion international terminal opened in October 2016, adding some two million square feet and 24 gates.

The airport celebrated the milestone of 16 million passengers in a single year by surprising travellers with a Sweet 16 candy buffet and a care-packagefor passengers heading to Belize that included a one-week parking pass and a voucher to stay at the new Marriott in-terminal hotel.

WestJet also provided a free pair of tickets for anywhere it fliesto one traveller on the flight.

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