TORONTO — In the first three months of 2018 a total of 11.3 million passengers travelled through Toronto Pearson International Airport, an increase of some 680,000 passengers over the same period in 2017, according to the latest stats from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.

Additional frequencies on existing routes, upgauging of average aircraft size on existing frequencies, and the addition of new routes by existing air carriers have driven passenger growth in the first quarter of 2018, says the GTAA.

During the three-month period ended March 31, 2018, passenger activity in the international sector increased by approximately 550,000 passengers reflecting 7.7% growth and the domestic sector increased by approximately 130,000 passengers reflecting 3.6% growth over the same period in 2017.

“The strong passenger growth Toronto Pearson experienced in 2017 has continued into the first quarter of 2018, particularly with regard to international traffic,” said Howard Eng, President and CEO of the GTAA.

During the first quarter of 2018, the GTAA recorded a net loss of $16.9 million (adjusted net income of $9.2 million excluding the one-time adjustments), compared to net income of $7.7 million for the same period in 2017, a $1.5 million increase based on normalized earnings. The GTAA has reduced its gross debt per enplaned passenger and net debt per enplaned passenger by 4.5 per cent and4.7 per cent to $267 and $247 over the same period in 2017, respectively.

During the three months ended March 31, 2018, the GTAA reported total revenues of $348.6 million, representing an increase of $24.5 million from the same period in 2017.