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