WestJet cancels summer flights between Halifax and Europe
WestJet has suspended its transatlantic service between Halifax and Europe for summer 2023.
The airline says the decision to suspend transatlantic flights from a number of Canadian cities is a response to “capacity constraints impacting the aviation ecosystem.”
In a statement Monday, the executive vice-president and chief commercial officer of the WestJet group said Halifax “remains an integral part” of the airline’s network.
“As we continue to responsibly balance our schedule alongside operational requirements, capacity constraints and the deployment of our aircraft across Canada, we are making these difficult decisions now to enable us to re-position our investments to best serve the province for years to come,” said John Weatherill.
WestJet previously offered direct flights to London Gatwick, Dublin, Glasgow and Paris.
WestJet says tickets for the routes have not been available for sale for summer 2023.
The airline has indicated the suspension of transatlantic service is temporary and the decision will be re-evaluated in 2024.
“WestJet’s focus remains on positioning its network to meet the travel demands of Canadians, while strengthening its footprint across Eastern Canada through sun and leisure travel ..." said the airline.
WestJet is set to announce its summer schedule “in the coming weeks,” according to the release, noting it will increase service between Halifax and western Canada.
Tiffany Chase, a spokesperson with Halifax Stanfield International Airport, says it wasn't a surprise when the airport received word last week that the European services with WestJet would not be operating.
"But it at least provides us with a confirmation and certainty as to what their plans are for 2023," said Chase.
Chase says the Halifax airport does still have nonstop European services available.
"So, passengers can still travel everyday actually, year round, on Air Canada's service to London Heathrow, and then for this summer, we have confirmation that both Condor Airlines and Eurowings Discover will operate Halifax and Frankfurt services nonstop," she said. "And they both operated in summer 2022 as well and reported that those routes operated quite successfully."
According to Chase, the Halifax airport is in discussions with other airlines about what's possible in this region.
"But it's unlikely that will be filled in 2023 unfortunately, but certainly, any opportunity that we have as an airport authority to attract other airlines here, we are doing that," said Chase.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.