Thunder Bay

Porter Airlines to keep flights grounded through late March

Porter Airlines flights will remain grounded for more than a year after the company first suspended its service.

Porter suspended commercial flights on March 21, 2020 during early stages of pandemic

Porter Airlines announced it was pushing back its planned restart date until the end of March, which would be more than a year since the airline suspended commercial flights. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)

Porter Airlines flights will remain grounded for more than a year after the company first suspended its service.

The airline announced on Monday that it was delaying its planned restart date to March 29, after having previously announced a target of February.

Company officials pointed to a continuing surge in COVID-19 cases and the resulting public health measures as a reason for pushing back their resumption of service.

"With the introduction of vaccines, we are more optimistic about determining a date in the near-term to reintroduce flights than at any point since the pandemic began," airline president and chief executive officer Michael Deluce said in a statement.

"More time is needed to assess the vaccine's influence on current travel restrictions and when it is appropriate to begin operations again. We expect to establish a timeline for this to happen in the first part of 2021."

The Toronto-based airline has halted their commercial flights since March 21, 2020.

The airline has flight crew members and maintenance staff based in Thunder Bay.