Air Canada discontinues service on 30 routes across the country

Air Canada has announced it’s discontinuing service on 30 domestic routes and closing eight stations at airports across the country amid weakened demand for travel due to the novel coronavirus and measures put in place to limit its spread.

Canada’s largest airline said in a statement Tuesday that most of the route suspensions will occur in the Maritimes, Ontario and Quebec, with a handful of closures affecting western routes between Saskatchewan and Ottawa.

“Air Canada expects the industry’s recovery will take a minimum of three years,” the airline said in a statement. “As a consequence, other changes to its network and schedule, as well as further service suspensions, will be considered over the coming weeks.”

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The airline industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as governments implemented travel restrictions, which included limiting non-essential travel.

Since the pandemic began, Air Canada reported a net loss of $1.05 billion in the first quarter of 2020, including a net cash burn in March of $688 million. The carrier also announced in mid-May that it would have to lay off about 20,000 employees, representing more than 50 per cent of its staff.

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Air Canada said affected customers will be contacted and offered options by the airline.

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Here are the routes affected:

Maritimes/Newfoundland and Labrador

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