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Sunwing flights set to take off from London, Ont., in December

London International Airport. AM980 London

It may be hard to imagine heading off to a sunny destination while the province is in the midst of the third wave of the pandemic, but the London International Airport is casting a hopeful gaze to the end of the year.

On Thursday, Sunwing announced that it will be returning to London for the 2021-2022 winter season.

The travel company says it will offer weekly flights to Cancun, Punta Cana and Varadero from Dec. 15, 2021 to April 20, 2022.

“We’re delighted to be returning to London International Airport for the 15th year,” says tour operations president Andrew Dawson.

“Now more than ever, our customers value the ease and convenience of being able to depart from their regional airport, and we’re pleased to be offering London residents frictionless vacation experiences under our wing.”

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The resumption of flights will follow lengthy travel interruptions due to the pandemic.

London International Airport president and CEO Mike Seabrook previously told Global News that the airport lost all of its flights to the Caribbean and Mexico in March of last year.

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In January, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Air Transat had all agreed to cancel air services to “all Caribbean destinations and Mexico” until the end of April.

Suspensions have since been extended until the end of May or early to mid-June, with some exceptions.

On Thursday, Seabrook said in a statement that “after over a year of travel restrictions and staying home, we’re looking forward to welcoming Sunwing back to London International Airport.”

Seabrook says vacationers will be able to “safely head back to paradise right from their doorstep.”

The federal government has pledged to provide enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for everyone who wants a shot by the fall.

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In the interim, questions around the safety air travel are resurfacing in relation to the spread of variants.

Canada’s top doctors warned on Wednesday that it’s almost “impossible” to keep concerning mutations of COVID-19 out of the country.

Since April 6, more than 100 international flights landing in Canada have carried at least one positive COVID-19 case on board, according to the federal government.

— with files from Global News’ Kelly Wang and Rachel Gilmore.

Click to play video: 'Canada suspends flights to sunny destinations until at least June'
Canada suspends flights to sunny destinations until at least June

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