Everyone knows that Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) is by far the busiest airport in Canada. In 2025, the facility’s own statistics show that 47.3 million passengers were welcomed, which was the third-best year on record. Only 2018 and 2019 had more traffic.

In the summer of 2026, Cirium Diio data shows that YYZ has long-haul flights on approximately 40 passenger airlines. In August, for example, an average of 91 daily departures will be available. That is more than in any other month in history. Multiple new and returning airlines and routes have contributed to this growth.

YYZ Recently Welcomed These Three Long-Haul Carriers

Credit: Flickr

On May 4, ahead of the peak summer, Finnair reintroduced service from Helsinki Airport (HEL) to YYZ, having last flown there (and to Canada) in 2015. The oneworld member has three weekly flights on the 279-seat Airbus A330-300. The operating period is short, with the final departure of the season leaving the Nordics on August 29. In addition to various cities Europe, passengers may quickly connect to/from Delhi. HEL-YYZ is not in Finnair’s ten longest routes list.

On May 23, Air Serbia took off from Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (BEG) to YYZ, with the carrier’s 257-seat and 262-seat A330-200s running twice-weekly until September 26. It is the market’s first nonstop service in 34 years, when its predecessor, JAT Yugoslav Airlines, operated. The route targets the significant Serbian Canadian population, which meant nearly 50,000 round-trip passengers in 2025. Those connecting to other cities in the Balkans, along with Athens, Istanbul, and so on, are also targeted. The split schedule, shown in the following table, is to increase two-way connectivity.

Three weeks later, on June 13, Iberia returned to YYZ, having last flown there (and to Canada) in the 1990s. It runs daily from Madrid Barajas Airport on the 182-seat Airbus A321XLR, with the final departure of the year on October 24. Westbound flights, which have headwinds, are blocked at up to nine hours. It is among the world’s longest XLR-operated nonstop services.

Air Canada & WestJet Have Started Six Long-Haul Routes

Credit: WestJet

On May 15, WestJet, which is Canada’s second-largest carrier, reintroduced service from YYZ to Glasgow. A four-weekly Boeing 737 MAX 8 service is available. The route was previously part of WestJet’s network amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022.

A week later, the airline took off from YYZ to Cardiff, the UK’s 19th-busiest airport for passenger traffic, for the first time (four weekly MAX 8). Cirium Diio shows that Air Transat flew to Wales until 2004, while the now-defunct Zoom Airlines operated from 2005 until 2008. Next was YYZ to Ponta Delgada on June 12 (three to four weekly MAX 8). Admittedly, it is not really in long-haul territory, but is included for completeness.

Then there’s Air Canada. On June 3, the Star Alliance member finally resumed flights from YYZ to Shanghai Pudong (four weekly 787-9). The very long route was last flown in 2020, when a daily service was available.

Two days later, Air Canada commenced the first mainline flight to Budapest (three to four weekly 787-8/787-9). That market was last in the hands of the airline’s lower-cost unit, Rouge (2016-2019). On June 11, one day before WestJet, Air Canada introduced its first flight to Ponta Delgada (three weekly MAX 8). Air Canada and WestJet compete directly with Azores Airlines in what is a fairly thin market. Which airline will blink first?

Air Transat’s Sole Long-Haul Route From YYZ This Summer

On June 18, Air Transat took off from YYZ to Tirana. This is Albania’s only long-haul route and the country’s first-ever scheduled operation to Canada. This is less to do with the size of the market and more to do with the lower-yielding nature of it. Air Transat operates weekly on the 332-seat A330-200.

Booking data shows that 34,000 round-trip passengers, mainly Albanian Canadians, traveled in the 12 months to April 2026. YYZ was the second-largest market between North America and Tirana, after Greater New York City. Air Transat had intended to begin flying from YYZ to Accra, Ghana, in late June, but this Anglophone market was shelved.