Ottawa travellers headed to the sun for March Break

This November 2012 photo shows the view of Cancun across the bay from the southernmost point of Isla Mujeres, also known as Punta Sur, where visitors can walk on developed trails amid dramatic cliffs to the very tip of the ocean. Isla Mujeres, or Island of Women, is a tiny 5-mile-long, half-mile wide island just a half-hour's ferry ride across from Cancun, with far fewer visitors and a much calmer, romantic atmosphere. (AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers)

Many travellers from Ottawa headed to sunny destinations over March Break, data from the Ottawa Airport show.

The airport says more than 62,000 people took flights out of Ottawa between March 7 and 17.

The top three international destinations for travellers were Cancun (2,778 seats per week), Fort Lauderdale (2545 seats per week), and Punta Cana (1,947 seats per week), which all saw more travellers this year compared to last.

Domestically, Toronto was far and away the top destination, with more than 21,000 travellers. Pearson Airport said on social media this week that more than a million people passed through its gates between March 11 and 17.

Vancouver (3,290 seats per week) and Calgary (3,150 seats per week) were the second and third most visited Canadian destinations for people flying out of Ottawa.

The Ottawa Airport saw a 10 per cent increase in the number of average flight departures for the week compared to 2023 and the average passenger load of flights leaving the airport was up four per cent.