Calgary International Airport Named Overall Winner At Routes Americas 2024 Awards

BOGOTA—Calgary International Airport (YYC) has been named the Overall Winner at the Routes Americas 2024 Awards, as well as triumphing in the 5-20 Million Passengers category. 

The Canadian airport was one of five winners at the event, which honored excellence in airport and destination marketing. Syracuse Hancock International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. and Air Canada also took home awards at the ceremony, held during Routes Americas 2024 here in Bogotá.

“We are delighted to have been selected as the winners of this prestigious award,” said Cindy Brown, Calgary Airport Authority air service development director.

“This accomplishment is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our teams at the Calgary Airport Authority to provide unparalleled support to our airline partners, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with them on new and exciting initiatives.”

YYC welcomed a record 18.5 million passengers in 2023, added one new airline partner and saw the introduction of 24 new routes, including 10 previously unserved destinations. Strong demand also led to increased capacity on existing routes and the transition from seasonal to year-round availability for several routes.

In the Under 5 Million Passengers category, New York's Syracuse Hancock International Airport was named the winner. The airport enjoyed a record year in 2023, handling 2.8 million passengers, marking a 12% increase over 2022. It expanded its portfolio by adding two new routes, increasing service on existing routes and securing the reintroduction of flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Orlando International Airport triumphed in the Over 20 Million Passengers category following a year when traffic rose to 58 million passengers and capacity surged by 15% to almost 69 million available seats. Notable successes included the launch of Avianca’s Orlando-Quito, Ecuador, service, helping the airport to grow its route map to 50 international destinations.

The Destination Award was won by Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. for its work to ensure a robust recovery from the pandemic. Although Barbados was one of the last Caribbean islands to remove COVID restrictions, a focus on rebuilding and increasing air service has seen the largest increase in frequencies, capacity and gateways from the Americas region in the country’s history.

Finally, Air Canada won the Airline Award. Alongside the Star Alliance member’s fleet expansion investment, the airline’s network development strategy revolves around a comprehensive and adaptive approach to market demands. In 2023, new U.S. routes included flights from Vancouver to Houston and Washington, while international services were added from Montréal to destinations including Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Toulouse.

Finalists from the Airport and Destination categories were reviewed and scored by a panel of airline judges, while the Airline category was reviewed and scored by a panel of editorial judges.