Montréal-Trudeau Airport (YUL) recorded 1.9 million passengers during the third quarter of 2021, an increase of 216.6% compared to the same period in 2020.
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However, the number of passengers remains far from its pre-pandemic level, with a 68% lower number of passengers in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2019.
The increase in ridership contrasts with the results of Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) announced on Tuesday for the nine months ending September 30, 2021. Traffic at YUL, which totaled 2.8 million passengers, saw a decrease of 41.5% compared to 2020.
More specifically, the international traffic saw a decrease of 55.1%, the cross-border (United States) observed a decrease of 59.2%, while the domestic decreased by 14.9% compared to the year 2020.
Despite this, EBITDA, which is the excess of revenues over expenses before taxes, financial expenses, amortization, depreciation and share of the results of a joint venture, stood at $ 31.3 million for the quarter ended. on September 30, 2021. This represents an improvement of $ 42.5 million or 379.5% compared to negative EBITDA of $ 11.2 million for the corresponding period of 2020.
For the nine months, EBITDA is $ 19.8 million, down $ 16.5 million or 45.4% compared to 2020.
ADM’s capital investments, reduced to essentials, reached $ 13.9 million in the third quarter of 2021 and $ 44.2 million for the nine months of 2021. Investments in YUL and YMX were financed by long-term debt.
ADM CEO Philippe Rainville believes that vaccinating workers and passengers will strengthen the recovery.
“While the last few months have shown us that passengers are feeling more and more comfortable with the idea of traveling and that the attendance rate at our facilities for the summer season has exceeded our initial forecasts, we are resolutely optimistic about the future of our industry, ”he said.