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 |
1 |
Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport |
YXE |
72.11 |
2 |
Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport |
YQB |
69.20 |
3 |
St. John's International Airport |
YYT |
60.96 |
4 |
Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport |
YOW |
52.66 |
5 |
Thunder Bay International Airport |
YQT |
52.48 |
6 |
Toronto Pearson International Airport |
YYZ |
52.33 |
7 |
Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport |
YUL |
51.65 |
8 |
Vancouver International Airport |
YVR |
51.08 |
9 |
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 airport, scoring 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.”