Air Canada Slashes Domestic Routes

USPA NEWS - On Tuesday, June 30th, Air Canada announced that due to the crippling drop in demand for air travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic that it is suspending service indefinitely on 30 domestic routes and closing 8 stations at regional airports across the country.

This latest news comes after a previous announcement made back in May stating that the airline would be cutting 20,000 jobs which is half of their workforce. Air Canada attributes these drastic measures are due to the ongoing drop in demand for both business and leisure travel due to the COVID-19 restrictions and border closures. These types of cuts and closures seem to be the new normal throughout the airline industry in Canada, North America, and around the world.

In a media statement, Air Canada advised that the following routes would be suspended indefinitely. " In Atlantic Canada: 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. In Quebec: 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. In Ontario: Kingston-Toronto, London-Ottawa, North Bay-Toronto, Windsor-Montreal. In Western Canada: Regina-Winnipeg, Regina-Saskatoon, Regina-Ottawa, Saskatoon-Ottawa. The regional airports where Air Canada is closing its stations are: Bathurst, New Brunswick, Wabush, Newfoundland, Gaspe, Quebec, Baie Comeau, Quebec, Mont Joli, Quebec, Val d'Or, Quebec, Kingston, Ontario, and North Bay, Ontario."

Joe Randell, CEO of Chorus Aviation, which owns and operates Jazz which is the operator of many of the routes being cut said, " I am saddened by the impact today's announcement will have on our employees, suppliers and the affected communities, but respect and understand the difficult choice our partner, Air Canada, has had to make."

Air Canada has indicated that there could be more schedule changes and cutbacks in the coming weeks and months as further cost-cutting measures during these very turbulent times in the airline industry.

Experts are predicting that it will take at least 3 years for the airline industry to recover from the losses due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. As this story continues to evolve, updates will be provided as the information becomes available.