Calgary climbs while Toronto and Montreal slide in new global airport rankings

• A major new global airport ranking has revealed a stark divide in Canadian aviation, with Calgary International Airport climbing the rankings while some of the country's largest airports suffered significant declines.

June 9, 2026 – Calgary International Airport was Canada's most improved airport in the 2026 AirHelp Score, climbing 26 places to rank 171st globally with an overall score of 7.45 out of 10.

The AirHelp Score, one of the world's largest independent airport rankings, evaluated 279 airports across 76 countries using data on on-time performance, service and facilities and comfort. Punctuality accounts for 60% of the overall score, making operational reliability the single biggest factor in the rankings.

Calgary's improvement stood out in a challenging year for Canadian airports. Edmonton International Airport ranked 166th globally with a score of 7.47, while Winnipeg Richardson International placed 165th and recorded the most stable performance of any Canadian airport featured, falling just seven places year-on-year.

The picture was markedly different at Canada's largest aviation hubs.

Toronto Pearson International Airport, the country's busiest airport with more than 460,000 flights annually, fell 61 places to 263rd globally, receiving an overall score of 6.95. Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport recorded one of the sharpest declines in the country, dropping 117 places to 254th.

Elsewhere, Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport fell 65 places to 241st, Vancouver International Airport dropped 57 places to 230th and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport slipped 53 places to 199th.

The results point to a growing divide between Canada's largest airports and their smaller counterparts. Of the eight Canadian airports included in this year's report, Calgary was the only airport to improve its position in the global rankings.

The Canadian results mirror a wider trend seen across this year's rankings, with smaller and less congested airports increasingly outperforming major international hubs on punctuality and passenger satisfaction.

Several of the world's best-known airports recorded significant declines, including Dubai International, New York's JFK and Chicago O'Hare. Meanwhile, Brazil dominated the upper reaches of the rankings, with airports across the country delivering some of the strongest operational performance scores in the report.

Globally, the top three airports were Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, Fortaleza Airport in Brazil and Cape Town International Airport in South Africa.

The 2026 AirHelp Score is the largest edition of the report to date, covering 29 more airports than in 2025 and providing one of the most comprehensive assessments of airport performance worldwide.

Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp, said: "The variation across Canadian airports in this year's report is significant. Calgary's improvement shows what is possible, but the drops at Toronto and Montreal reflect the real impact disruption is having on the country's biggest hubs. On-time performance is what passengers care about most, and that is exactly where the pressure is showing."

AirHelp is encouraging travellers to check their eligibility using the AirHelp app, which allows passengers to quickly assess claims and manage the process without the usual administrative burden.

For more information on your passenger rights, or to check if you are eligible for compensation, visit AirHelp.ca or download the AirHelp app.

ENDS

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Methodology

The 2026 AirHelp Score covers 279 airports across 76 countries — the largest number ranked to date. Data was collected from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2026. The score is weighted across on-time performance (60%), service (20%) and facilities and comfort (20%). This year’s report also includes supplementary delay and cancellation data, which provides context but does not factor into the score itself.