WestJet is restoring service to six airports in Eastern Canada that was suspended last fall due to the pandemic, the Calgary-based airline announced Wednesday.
Flights in and out of Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney and Quebec City will resume beginning June 24 through to June 30.
Service between St. John’s and Toronto, which was indefinitely suspended in October, will also resume on June 24.
The resumption of the flights will restore WestJet’s complete network of pre-COVID-19 domestic airports, the airline said.
“Our focus remains on the safe restart of air travel. We ask that federal and provincial governments work with us to provide clarity and certainty to Canadians, including travel policies that support economic recovery and restore jobs,” said WestJet president and CEO Ed Sims in a release.
“Alongside an accelerated and successful vaccine rollout, we are hopeful that there will be an easing of onerous travel restrictions currently in place. We look forward to working together to safely reconnect Canadians to the region in the coming months.”
‘The deciding factor will be demand’
The resumption of service to Atlantic Canada and Quebec City will be gradual and adjusted as the airline gauges how many flights are warranted, WestJet’s chief commercial officer, John Weatherill, said at a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
Initially, the airline will operate daily flights between Toronto and St. John’s, Fredericton, Moncton and Quebec City. It will also run 11 flights per week between Toronto and Charlottetown and six per week between St. John’s and Halifax.
“The deciding factor will be demand,” he said. “Our expectation is that demand will be very high this summer.”
The resumed flights will see the airline bring back some laid-off flight attendants and other staff, but it’s not likely that any pilot positions will be reactivated in the short term, Weatherill said.
