A WestJet Link 34-seat Saab 340b aircraft taxis to the gate at Medicine Hat Regional Airport in this June 2018 file photo. The pandemic has forced the airline to once again suspend flights to and from Medicine Hat. Flights will stop from March 21 to June 24.-- NEWS FILE PHOTO
WestJet will temporarily suspend flights to and from Medicine Hat Regional Airport.
The airline made the announcement Thursday and will cease flights from March 21 until June 24. Lloydminister, London, Ont. and St. John’s, Nfld. are also affected.
The company said the decision had been made due to lower demand as a result of COVID-19.
“We have continued to operate in the face of uncertainty as domestic and international travel restrictions and quarantines have caused demand to plummet,” said Ed Sims, WestJet president and CEO. “Unfortunately, with new and increasingly restrictive policies, we are left once again, with no other option than to suspend service to these communities.”
WestJet service out of Medicine Hat started in June 2018 having contracted with Pacific Coastal Airlines to provide the service in a 34-seater Saab aircraft.
In March 2020 WestJet reduced the number of flights between Calgary and Medicine Hat from three to two a day and then in April 2020 suspended flights indefinitely.
In early November WestJet had begun a revised schedule of flights once more.
WestJet also announced on Thursday it was suspending flights to St. John’s and Halifax effective March 21, while service between London, Ont., and Toronto will cease on March 22. WestJet Link service from Calgary to Lloydminster will end on March 19.
Sims says that WestJet’s ability to return to its regular routes is directly related to “government policies and the prioritization of a domestic travel program”.
As a result of the suspensions, WestJet will be working with newly established third-party service providers in St. John’s and London, Ont., and directly with Pacific Coastal Airlines for affected WestJet Link operations in Lloydminster and Medicine Hat.
Sims says WestJet continues to operate at more than a 90 per cent reduction of passengers during the pandemic.
Guests impacted by the cancellation of flights will be contacted directly regarding their options for travel.
