The Ottawa airport's terminal building.

Increased airline capacity and several one-time revenue receipts helped the Ottawa International Airport record its 10th straight profitable year in 2007.

As Air Canada, WestJet and Porter Airlines all added new destinations or increased flight capacity, a record-setting 4.08 million passengers passed through the Ottawa airport last year, a year-over-year increase of 7.4 per cent, according to figures released Wednesday afternoon at the airport's annual general meeting.

"The strength of the national capital region is finally being realized by all our airline partners out there...You used to have to go to Montreal or Toronto to get anywhere. That's not the case anymore," said airport president and CEO Paul Benoit.

The strongest growth was in international travel, where the number of passengers increased 9.3 per cent. The number of domestic travelers increased by 8.7 per cent while transborder trips increased 1.5 per cent last year.

The number of passengers using the Ottawa airport is projected to exceed 5.8 million in 2020, more than double the number of passengers that passed through the airport's gates in 1996, the year before the federal government turned over the facility to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Authority.

The airport's earnings before depreciation increased by more than two-thirds to $18.2 million on $84.7 million of revenue in 2007. The airport is also anticipating that the cost of its most recent expansion phase will come in under the project's $100 million budget when financial figures are finalized later this year.

However, Mr. Benoit tempered the financial picture by noting the airport is still servicing $350 million in public debt and added its balance sheet received a pair of one-time revenue boosts from a reconciliation of Air Canada's airport improvement fee contribution as well as a favourable court ruling on money owed by several now-bankrupt airlines.

Although Mr. Benoit said the airport has no intention of running a deficit in future years, he conceded the soaring price of oil is a significant concern.

"There is no airplane that is made to fly at $120 a barrel. I saw today that people are talking $200 a barrel. It has to be a concern," he said.

Mr. Benoit also reaffirmed an offer to the city to provide it with land to connect the airport with a future light rail link. The current transit option recommended by city staff includes a spoke line into the airport.