WestJet cutting flights to Atlantic Canada, laying off staff

WestJet is suspending operations to four cities in Atlantic Canada and slashing service to others in the region as the pandemic continues to take a toll on the airline industry. WestJet said Wednesday it will indefinitely halt routes to Fredericton, Moncton, N.B., Sydney, N.S., and Charlottetown, while "dramatically" paring down service to Halifax and St. John's, N.L. The Calgary-based airline is also suspending operations between Toronto and Quebec City. The cuts eliminate more than 100 flights weekly starting Nov. 2, and remove nearly 80 per cent of WestJet's seat capacity from the Atlantic region, the company said. "The lack of travel demand combined with domestic quarantines means that sadly we can no longer maintain our full Canadian network of service," CEO Ed Sims said. "Since the pandemic's beginning, we have worked to keep essential air service to all of our domestic airports, but we are out of runway and have been forced to suspend service in the region without sector-specific support."<br/>