WestJet scraps St. John's-to-Hamilton route after less than a month in air

After less than a month in the skies, WestJet has decided to cancel its route between St. John's and Hamilton next month.

The route was announced in March. It started May 17 and was scheduled to carry on until mid-October, but WestJet says the service will now halt as of July 1.

The cancellation is part of WestJet's broader plan to discontinue connections from Hamilton to airports in Atlantic Canada and to reduce service to Florida. 

"The decision to remove service is never taken lightly, and we understand this is disappointing news for our guests and the community of Hamilton and sincerely apologize for the impact this may have," spokesperson Madison Kruger told CBC News in an email.

"We have provided our guests with as much advance notice as possible either directly, or through their travel agent."

Affected customers will also get a refund for the flights, Kruger added.

The news comes soon after WestJet announced it was also terminating its St. John's-to-Toronto route after Oct. 27.

The Hamilton route was initially flown by budget airline Swoop, which merged with WestJet in October, with Swoop being shut down.

When the announcement was made that St. John's and Hamilton were being linked, vice-president of external affairs Andrew Gibbons said it was important to connect WestJet's service between the two cities.

"We heard loud and clear how critical connectivity from Ontario is for the region and we look forward to strengthening the connection between these two vibrant provinces," Gibbons said in a statement in March.

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