The Charlottetown Airport had a record-breaking year for passenger traffic in 2019.

Passenger movement through the Charlottetown Airport last year was up 3.4 per cent from 2018 — an increase of about 12,000 people.

Most of that growth can be attributed to increased capacity from Air Canada this past summer, as well as the addition of a second flight to Ottawa, said Doug Newson, CEO of the Charlottetown Airport Authority.

"Obviously [we're] pleased to see that growth and pleased to see the airlines continuing to add more capacity and options for Islanders," he said.

With new WestJet flights to Calgary and the introduction of Swoop, Newson said he's optimistic for 2020 as well.

Swoop will offer three flights a week to Hamilton, Ont., starting at the end of June. The flights will be offered Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from June 27 to Oct. 22.

"We haven't seen final schedules from all the carriers yet for the peak summer but we're certainly optimistic that 2020 should be another strong year for the airport," Newson said.

The new flights are expected to bring in 30,000 additional seats to the P.E.I. market in 2020.

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