Porter Airlines says it is extending the suspension of its flights to Feb. 11, 2021, due to increasing COVID-19 cases and ongoing travel restrictions affecting customer demand. The regional airline had hoped to restart service on Dec. 15.

Porter says planning a restart after the traditionally slow post-holiday January period provides a reasonable opportunity to begin flying if conditions improve.

It says it also gives more time for the development of rapid testing solutions.

Porter grounded its fleet on March 21 amid the COVID-19 outbreak, with initial plans to take off again in early June, but has pushed its restart date back several times.

Porter chief executive Michael Deluce says the continued and cumulative effects of restrictive travel advisories, border closures and quarantines have suffocated travel demand to the point that a return to sustainable levels of passenger traffic is highly unlikely this year.