Saint John airport hardest hit by Air Canada cuts in September

Travellers hoping to catch a flight from Saint John to Toronto are going to have fewer choices after the Labour Day weekend. Air Canada is cutting two of its three daily direct flights to Toronto and one of two flights to Montreal. Alexander Ross, Saint John Airport president and CEO, said it's an "unwelcome development." He said Air Canada told the airport it hopes to restore the flights in November and December, but in the airport business, it's not easy to tell if these are just regular seasonal cuts. "The last couple years what's been happening through COVID, it's kind of hard to say what normal is anymore," Ross said. Saint John travellers will no longer be able to fly to Toronto and back in one day for business. Ross acknowledges people may now have to look to other airports in the region for their flights, including the Greater Moncton Romeo LeBlanc International Airport, which is not seeing any cuts to flights this fall. "I think it represents an unfair inconvenience to the Saint John traveller," Ross said. An Air Canada spokesperson provided an email statement to CBC News, calling the cuts "seasonal adjustments" that commonly happen throughout the year. The statement went on to cite high demand for pilots and lingering supply chain issues as reasons for the cuts.<br/>