WestJet cuts flights to Atlantic Canada

WestJet is indefinitely suspending operations to four cities in Atlantic Canada while significantly reducing service to Halifax, N.S. and St. John’s, Nfld.

The Calgary-based airline said Wednesday all flights to and from Moncton, N.B., Fredericton and Sydney, N.S. and Charlottetown, P.E.I. will be discontinued as of November 2.

The decision will eliminate 100 weekly flights to and from the Atlantic region, or nearly 80 per cent of seat capacity.

“It has become unviable to serve these markets and these decisions were regrettably inevitable as demand is being obliterated by the Atlantic bubble and third-party fee increases,” WestJet chief executive Ed Sims said in a statement.

“Since the pandemic’s beginning, we have worked to keep essential air service to all of our domestic airports, but we are out of runway and have been forced to suspend service in the region without sector-specific support.”

The move will leave Atlantic Canada with three WestJet routes, including Halifax and Toronto (14 weekly flights), Halifax and Calgary (nine weekly flights) and St. John’s and Halifax (11 weekly flights).

WestJet said the flight suspension will also result in further layoffs.

More to come

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.

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