Air Canada Cans 14 Flights

Air Canada has canned some 14 flights across Atlantic Canada, with half of those in Newfoundland and Labrador, something the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce says is a blow to the region.

On Tuesday, June 30th, Air Canada cancelled 7 flight routes throughout the province sparking backlash, just as the Atlantic bubble comes into effect today. Deer Lake to St. John’s, Deer Lake to Goose Bay, Gander to St. John’s, Gander to Goose Bay, Wabush to Goose Bay, Wabush to Sept-Isles, and Goose Bay to St. John’s were all cancelled.

Atlantic Chamber of Commerce CEO, Sherry Summerville says it’s a blow to the region as we depend so greatly on these linkages to connect the region, build businesses, help tourism and stimulate population growth and labour attraction.

She says this will drastically change how the region recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Summerville calls it “deeply concerning” that 7 out of 14 cancelled routes were in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Summerville says between COVID-19, Snowmageddon and now this; it seems like its hard-fought uphill battle for the province some days.

The Chamber of Commerce believes government needs to work with Air Canada to try and put these lines back in place.

However, Summerville says she doesn’t if they’ll ever see them all return.

She says they’re hearing from some airports that it could be 4 to 5 years to bounce back to pre-COVID numbers.

In other news: Wabush hopeful other Airline will step up to fill the gap left by Air Canada.

The mining hub of the province is reaching out to others in the wake of Air Canada’s flight reduction plan. Many of the hits involve Labrador, especially the West.

Mayor Ron Barron says Air Canada has imposed similar reductions before, only to return after another airline picked up the slack.

Given the amount of mining activity, Wabush- which also serves the Fermont area of Quebec – is one of the busier airports in Atlantic Canada. It is served also by PAL which provides connections to Newfoundland, the rest of Labrador, and parts of Quebec.

Barron says you always like to have competition so maybe other airlines will take a look at what is being dropped.

Courtesy VOCM news.

We are waiting for more information and interviews from Air Canada, when they’re available.