YKF down to 1 daily, 1 weekly flight after Westjet cancels Florida route
The Region of Waterloo International Airport is just barely holding on to its "international" label, as Westjet has decided to stop seasonal flights to Orlando.
"We appreciate and recognize that this is unfortunate news for the communities affected however we have cancelled the non-stop seasonal flight from Waterloo to Orlando," Westjet spokeswoman Lauren Stewart wrote in an email to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.
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"Unfortunately the route was not utilized enough to warrant a return this winter," said Stewart, pointing out that passengers can still connect to Orlando though Toronto and Hamilton.
That means just two destinations remain for travel out of YKF; Westjet's daily flights to Calgary and Sunwing's once-weekly seasonal service to Punta Cana.
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The daily flights are actually an improvement for the airport. Previously Westjet had only offered five flights a week.
"These types of decisions are made by airlines sometimes," said Chris Wood, general manager of the Region of Waterloo International Airport.
"Westjet has been a valued partner of ours for more than 10 years and we continue to have discussions with them and others about more air service in the community. We remain hopeful of additional air service announcements in the future. "
Westjet began offering the seasonal flights to Orlando in December, 2015. At the time Sunwing also offered seasonal flights to Cuba and American Airlines offered multiple flights a week to Chicago.
Neither airline still offers those services.