From CBC News – link to source story
‘It does give us hope’
Kevin Yarr · CBC News · Posted: Feb 10, 2021
Charlottetown Airport received some good news for a change Wednesday with the announcement that Flair Airlines would begin service to Toronto starting in June.
The airport began 2020 with expectations for another record year for traffic, but the pandemic saw airline after airline cancel flights. Charlottetown is currently down to one flight daily.
Airport CEO Doug Newson is hopeful the Flair announcement is the beginning of recovery.
“Any positive news is good. And it’s a bit of a sign that hopefully we are starting to rebuild and starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Newson.
“We know it’s going to be a long road to recovery to get back to where we were. And there’s still some difficult days ahead. But, you know, it does give us hope.”
Charlottetown was one of eight cities added to the Flair network.
The Charlottetown schedule is already up on the Flair website, with flights on Mondays and Fridays starting June 4. The discount airline is offering a round-trip for $98.27.
The announcement covers the schedule from May to October, and Newson said he does not have any details beyond that.
“In this business, especially right now, there’s never any long-term guarantees in terms of flight schedules,” he said.
“We’re still dealing with carriers on a month-to-month basis in some cases right now because of the pandemic.”
It is possible the launch of the service will be delayed if travel restrictions are not lifted, Newson said.
While there is still uncertainty, he said the announcement is a good sign that airlines still see Charlottetown as a market they want to serve as travel resumes after the pandemic.