TORONTO, Ont. - Porter Airlines will not be taking back to the skies until the fall after pushing back its restart date by more than a month.
According to a statement on the Porter Airlines website, flights are expected to resume on Oct. 7. The original start date was previously listed as Aug. 31.
“We want to see our planes in the sky as soon as possible and are actively working to prepare for our resumption of service,” the statement reads.
“However, the ongoing uncertainty presented by government travel restrictions, including border closures, is impacting our ability to operate flights. We are closely watching developments and know that Porter will be an important part of providing people with travel options as the economy recovers.”
Travel restrictions including the closure of the Canada/U.S. border to known essential travel until at least Aug. 21, as well as the Atlantic Canada travel bubble, are restricting the company's ability to provide service.
"We never intended to suspend operations for such an extended period of time,” said Michael Deluce, president and CEO, Porter Airlines. “Unfortunately, the layers of travel restrictions are serving to keep most people at home and show no signs of easing. We will continue making decisions based on how the situation evolves.”
The company says it is introducing enhanced health and safety measures, which will be announced closer to when flights are expected to resume.
“To provide flexibility and give travellers peace of mind when purchasing for future travel, Porter is waiving change and cancellation fees on all fares booked between today and Oct. 7,” the statement reads. “This also applies to Porter Escapes vacation packages.”
Porter has pushed back resuming flights four times throughout the summer, with the first restart slated to begin June 1 after cancelling service due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 21.
