Air Canada Suspends 30 Regional Routes, Closes Eight Stations

With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging around the world and travel demand consequently depressed, airlines are being faced with adapting their networks to make business sustainable in the medium term.

Over the past few days Air Canada had to make the difficult decision to suspend indefinitely 30 domestic routes in its networks and consequently closing down eight regional stations in Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and New Brunswick. All services cut connect smaller communities in Canada, some of which will remain without air connections altogether. Here is the list of the suspended routes:

Atlantic Canada

Deer Lake-Goose Bay

Deer Lake-St. John’s

Fredericton-Halifax

Fredericton-Ottawa

Moncton-Halifax

Saint John-Halifax

Charlottetown-Halifax

Moncton-Ottawa

Gander-Goose Bay

Gander-St. John’s

Bathurst-Montreal

Wabush-Goose Bay

Wabush-Sept-Iles

Goose Bay-St. John’s

Quebec and Ontario

Baie Comeau-Montreal

Baie Comeau-Mont Joli

Gaspé-Iles de la Madeleine

Gaspé-Quebec City

Sept-Iles-Quebec City

Val d’Or-Montreal

Mont Joli-Montreal

Rouyn-Noranda-Val d’Or

Kingston-Toronto

London-Ottawa

North Bay-Toronto

Windsor-Montreal

Western Canada

Regina-Winnipeg

Regina-Saskatoon

Regina-Ottawa

Saskatoon-Ottawa

The cities that will be completely abandoned by Air Canada will be Bathurst, New Brunswick; Walbush, Newfoundland and Labrador; Gaspé, Baie Comeau, Mont Joli and Val d’Or in Quebec; Kingston and North Bay in Ontario.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his disappointment with Air Canada’s decision: “We are obviously disappointed by the decision by Air Canada to cut services to some regions. We know Air Canada profits from the most profitable routes in the country but we expect them to serve … people who live in more distant regions,” Reuters reported on Friday. “We hope they can gradually resume these services … as the economy starts to recover”.

Unlike many countries around the world, Canada does not have a system to financially support Essential Air Service. or those routes that would not be commercially viable but that represent a vital lifeline for remote communities. Therefore, airlines base their decisions on which markets to serve exclusively on a commercial basis.

Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu stated last month that the company is currently losing 22 million Canadian dollars per day [approximately 16.2 million U.S. dollars] and during the Annual General Meeting blasted the Government for imposing very restrictive conditions to Canadian citizens allowing them very limited freedom of movement.

At the end of June, four provinces in Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador) have established a “bubble” isolating themselves from the rest of Canada and the world to maintain their low number of cases, although it appears that plans are being made for a gradual reopening to tourism from the other provinces.

Air Canada’s announcement was received with great disappointment by the local communities impacted by the closures. Mr. Al McDonald, the mayor of North Bay, Ontario, declared to Radio-Canada that it is a “devastating loss” for the local airport, whose 300 employees are now facing an uncertain future. “We ask that the Federal Government and Air Canada work together to save the airline industry and we request not to be left behind,” said Mr. McDonald.

The airport of Bathurst, New Brunswick, has lost its triple daily service to Montreal and is now left without any air link. This is another blow dealt to the economy of the region after the closure of a local foundry and a mine for the extraction of heavy precious metals. “We feel more and more isolated,” Mr. Paolo Fongemie, mayor of Bathurst commented to Radio-Canada.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Vanni Gibertini

Vanni fell in love with commercial aviation during his undergraduate studies in Statistics at the University of Bologna, when he prepared his thesis on the effects of deregulation on the U.S. and European aviation markets. Then he pursued his passion further by obtaining a Master’s Degree in Air Transport Management at Cranfield University in the U.K. followed by holding several management positions at various start-up carriers in Europe (Jet2, SkyEurope, Silverjet). After moving to Canada, he was Business Development Manager for IATA for nine years before turning to his other passion: sports writing.

Latest posts by Vanni Gibertini (see all)

• ITA Airways Revives Alitalia Brand - September 28, 2024
• Leisure Carrier Canada Jetlines Ceases Operations - August 15, 2024
• Porter Increases Capacity in Canada-Florida Market - June 26, 2024