EAST MEETS WEST: WestJet to return to Atlantic Canada, Quebec

WestJet says it is restoring flights to several regional destinations in Eastern Canada that were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Service to St. John’s, Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney, and Quebec City will start over the course of six days beginning June 24.

“We committed to return to the communities we left as a result of the pandemic, and we will be restoring flights to these regions in the coming months, of our own volition,” said WestJet’s president and CEO Ed Sims.

WestJet suspended service to St. John’s in October and the other five cities in November. The planned restart dates include:

• June 24 – Charlottetown-Toronto (11x weekly)
• June 24 – St. John’s-Toronto (daily)
• June 26 – Fredericton-Toronto (daily)
• June 28 – Quebec City-Toronto (daily)
• June 28 – Sydney-Toronto (daily)
• June 30 – Moncton-Toronto (daily)

A restart of service between St. John’s and Halifax will also be moved up to May 6 from the previous target of June 24 and Sydney-Halifax starts June 28.

The withdrawal of airlines from smaller markets in Canada, such as cities in the Atlantic provinces, had raised concerns about connectivity issues between the region and the rest of the country.

The flight suspensions had also taken a toll on businesses in the region, including the smaller airports that rely on revenues from airlines and passengers.

WestJet’s announcement comes as industry analysts expect a partial restart in travel later this year, as a greater percentage of Canadians receive vaccinations for COVID-19.

Air Canada is expected to restore service to more destinations beginning in early May, including cities in the US. Yesterday, the carrier said it would resume flights from Toronto to Mexico City; Kingston, Jamaica; and Bridgetown Barbados, on May 3, 5 and 9 respectively.

Canadian airlines in January suspended all flights to sun destinations until April 30 at the request of the federal government.

Air Canada had said it expected a testing program at airports to replace some quarantine measures for international travellers by the time flights to sun destinations were set to resume, but the federal government has yet to indicate that it is willing to loosen the restrictions, which include a mandatory stay in a hotel for people arriving by air.

Still, some airlines are betting that demand for travel will increase soon. Low-cost carrier Flair Airlines, for example, said in February that it was expanding service to eight cities in Canada ahead of a potential restart of domestic tourism this spring and summer.