WestJet Airlines (TSX:WJA) is restoring service to Atlantic Canada.
The discount carrier plans to resume flights to Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney and Quebec City in late June, after initially suspending flights to those cities last November. WestJet will also resume service between St. John’s, Newfoundland and Toronto on June 24.
Those route suspensions eliminated more than 100 weekly flights, and about 80% of WestJet’s overall seat capacity in Atlantic Canada.
Like all airlines, WestJet has been hard hit by the pandemic, with travel restrictions and an overall reduction in air travel demand hurting its operations. The company announced it was cutting the equivalent of 1,000 jobs in January, implemented a hiring freeze and reported a more than 80% drop in capacity year-over-year through February and March.
Canada’s airline industry continues to call on the federal government for targeted relief. Negotiations between federal officials in Ottawa and the airline sector remain ongoing, but a number of key sticking points including the refund of customer deposits have emerged as sticking points.