Canada’s Porter Airlines has again delayed its restart by another month as travel restrictions in that country continue disrupting the industry.
The Toronto-based regional carrier says on 12 April that it plans to begin operating again on 21 June. That is delayed from 19 May.
“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 airline says on its website. “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.”
It is the tenth time since the company shut down in March 2020 that it has delayed its re-opening.
The Canadian government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau maintains strict travel restrictions in that country, which include a 14-day mandatory quarantine for all arriving passengers from abroad. Individual provinces have additional rules.
At the request of the government, all carriers suspended operations to southern sun destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean during the country’s traditional March break season, stymieing the airlines’ attempts to return to some sort of normalcy following a year-long crisis.
Porter has a fleet of 29 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s, with orders for 12 Airbus A220 aircraft, according to Cirium fleets data. It serves destinations in eastern Canada and the Northeast USA.
