Air Canada cutting more service to Atlantic Canada in January

Air Canada confirms it will be suspending all flights effective Jan. 11 until further notice in Sydney, N.S., and Saint John, N.B., along with all routes in Deer Lake, NL., Charlottetown, Fredericton and Halifax.

The service cuts come as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating impact on the air travel business.

“We continue to experience significantly reduced traffic due to COVID-19, ongoing travel restrictions and quarantine rules, low seasonal demand and the termination of the travel bubble,” the company said in a statement.

“This decision was not taken lightly, and we regret the impact on our customers and community partners, but it is increasingly difficult to continue to operate in this challenging environment, without specific financial support from government, with whom continue to wait for negotiations to start. Air Canada is still carrying less than eight per cent of its normal passenger volumes due to factors beyond our control and with no horizon for recovery.”

Air Canada says in addition it is temporarily suspending the following services in Atlantic Canada:

• Deer Lake- Halifax
• Fredericton-Toronto
• Charlottetown-Toronto
• Halifax-Ottawa

The move comes after the country’s largest airline announced in June the indefinite suspensions of 11 routes in Atlantic Canada and the closure of stations in Bathurst, N.B., and Wabush, NL.

In October, WestJet Airlines said it was suspending 80 per cent of its Atlantic Canada capacity.

Airlines have been cutting service as passenger demand has dwindled, prompting Air Canada to convert several planes to carry freight. The airline industry has been calling for federal support for months.

Derrick Stanford, president of the Atlantic Canada Airports Association and CEO of Saint John Airport, says this third major round of cuts in the last six months is whittling down service to an unsustainable level.