THUNDER BAY — Until Ottawa eases travel restrictions, Thunder Bay-area residents counting on catching rays on a Caribbean beach this winter must book a flight through Toronto or another city.
Thunder Bay Airport remains off the list of 18 Canadian airports where the federal government currently allows international passenger flights to land.
The city is one of a dozen locations where international arrivals were previously permitted, but are currently excluded.
This has already impacted local travellers hoping to book a trip through Sunwing next month and into January.
An agent for the tour operator says no flights to its Caribbean destinations are scheduled out of Thunder Bay until late January.
In April, the tour operator announced it would again offer direct flights this winter between Thunder Bay and three popular resort areas – Cancun, Varadero and Punta Cana.
Weekly flights to all three locations were supposed to start in mid-December and continue to mid-April 2022.
Sunwing spokesperson Andrew Dawson noted last spring that the company's seasonal flight service from Thunder Bay has been consistently popular over the years.
Thunder Bay Airport CEO Ed Schmidtke also welcomed the announcement, saying he appreciated Sunwing's confidence in the Thunder Bay market after a difficult year for the travel industry.
Asked this week if he's received any indication that the federal government might soon allow international flights to Thunder Bay to resume, Schmidtke said he has heard nothing.
Representatives of two Thunder Bay travel agencies said there is considerable pent-up demand for Caribbean travel, and most of those clients are flying through Toronto.
However, one spokesperson said the passenger volume currently on the books for next month is only about 50 per cent of pre-pandemic December 2019.
The spokesperson suggested "chances are slipping away to zero very soon" that direct flights from Thunder Bay will be available anytime this winter.
Another representative said she's telling clients who like the convenience of those flights they are "rolling the dice" if they are betting on the go-ahead from Ottawa in the coming weeks.
Transport Canada did not immediately reply Wednesday to a request for an update on the government's plans.
