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Those hoping to fly out of Regina this summer with Flair Airlines may now have to find another option.
The Regina Airport Authority confirmed Wednesday that despite the recent announcement that Flair Airlines was considered “Canadian enough” to operate as an airline by the Canadian Transportation Agency, the discount airline will be temporarily discontinuing service out of Regina on June 11.
Flair had been offering two flights a week to Toronto from Regina.
“As a result of what they’ve told us are a lack of available aircraft — there’s a few apparent delays with aircraft orders — and a few other issues related to congestion in major hubs like Toronto, they’ve had to temporarily suspend service,” said James Bogusz, the president and CEO of the airport authority.
“(It’s) not great news for us in that regard, but we are hoping to have them back in the future.”
Bogusz says it’s common for airlines to announce they’ll be suspending or discontinuing service with little notice.
“Airlines don’t typically give a lot of notice when they discontinue routes; it’s not something (where) they do a press release,” Bogusz said.
“Airlines like WestJet and Air Canada change their routes all the time. In this particular case, Flair had just the two flights per week to Toronto and they have decided to suspend the service.”
According to Bogusz, this is the third time Flair has “come and gone” from Regina over the past 24 months for reasons ranging from COVID-19 to aircraft orders.
The Saskatoon International Airport said in a statement it has not been advised of any plans for Flair to cease or suspend operations in Saskatoon.
While it’s disappointing for Bogusz that Flair has decided to head in a different direction, he said there are a lot more flight options coming to the Queen City with Swoop launching on June 16.
It will be offering six flights per week, with two to each of Edmonton, Toronto and Winnipeg.
“(Swoop) would have been a direct competitor to Flair doing ultra-low-cost service,” Bogusz said. “As much as we are absolutely hoping to have Flair back in the future, (with) the two flights that were reduced (with Flair’s departure), we’re now getting six with a different company.”
Attempts to reach Flair Airlines for comment were unsuccessful by the time of publication.