REGINA — Regina’s airport has seen a massive uptick in U.S. travellers so far in 2025 despite many people choosing to stay in their own country due to ongoing tariff disputes.
James Bogusz, Regina Airport Authority (RAA) CEO, said between January and June, the airport saw more than 39,000 passengers to and from the U.S.
“Last year in the same time period, we saw 26,000 [passengers]. So this has been a massive increase,” said Bogusz.
"June 2025 also had “one of the best months the airport has seen in a while,” he added, with nearly a 10 per cent year-over-year increase compared to June 2024.
Several reasons for the uptick include daily service to Minneapolis, which did not start until the end of April 2024.
Another factor is the return of a daily flight to Denver, the sixth-busiest airport in the world, said Bogusz.
“There are over 80 million passengers a year [there], far bigger than Toronto Pearson.”
Bogusz had previously expressed concerns about softening demand for U.S. flights, but noted the Denver flight is averaging 38 to 40 passengers on its 50-seat jet.
“This is well above what we would have expected, given the service is quite new.”
The airport has invested in a marketing package to raise awareness of the Denver service within the local community.
It is unclear how much revenue the airport has made from the increase in U.S. travellers, but Bogusz noted every departing passenger is charged a $30 levy.
“We [also] generate revenue through a variety of sources and things like parking, things like sandwich sales, concession sales, renting a car, etc.”
As for expanding U.S. service, Bogusz would eventually like to see the Denver route increase to two flights a day.
Overall, he feels “quite comfortable” with the current U.S. flight options and hinted at continuing to work with Porter Airlines in hopes of adding a flight to Ottawa.
