HAMILTON, Bermuda – Air Canada has announced it is to resume flights to Bermuda on May 1, providing a boost for the island’s tourism industry ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
The airline halted the service between Toronto and Bermuda on January 9 after the latest surge in COVID-19 infections in the island which has pushed the total beyond the 9,000 mark with almost 2,000 active cases.
A spokesman said at the time: “Air Canada continues to evaluate and adjust its route network as required in response to the trajectory of the pandemic, government-imposed travel restrictions and quarantines, and regulatory requirements.”
Air service between Bermuda and Canada was also affected after low-cost carrier WestJet said it would reduce flights to the island.
The airline had offered two flights a week between the island and Toronto, but the service was reduced to one flight a week.
It was revealed earlier this month that US-based low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways would treat Bermuda as a “summer seasonal” destination for the 2022-23 winter season with the Boston and New York routes suspended between November this year and April 2023.
JetBlue currently provides daily service between Bermuda and New York and the opposition One Bermuda Alliance’s Shadow Tourism Minister Susan Jackson described halting the service in November as “a devastating blow” for the island’s tourism industry.
She said losing the flights would deal “a major inconvenience to many, especially the sick, the elderly, students and businessmen and women who rely on the service to travel to their destinations both in America and internationally”.
Jackson said international business was keeping the island afloat and did not need further disruption, adding that the loss of airlift should “deeply” concern residents and visitors.
American Airlines resumed daily flights to Miami earlier this month, restoring a popular link with the Caribbean, but paused service to Philadelphia.
