The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
No flights in Jan. at Sydney airport
SYDNEY — The latest blow to air service in and out of Sydney was met with shock and disappointment in Cape Breton business and political circles after Air Canada announced a further suspension of flights.
In a news release issued Tuesday morning from the J.A. Douglas Mccurdy Sydney Airport, Air Canada's decision to suspend air service from Sydney to Toronto and Halifax, effective Jan. 11, 2021, was outlined.
The Sydney Jazz aviation station will also be closed until further notice.
“I think that this is a massive loss to our entire island and to our region,” said Kathleen Yurchesyn, CEO of the Cape Breton Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“Simply put, accessibility via air to our island is absolutely integral to not only our sustainability as a region but our growth as a region.”
Yurchesyn also noted the job losses related to the airport news, good ones in sector-specific areas.
“This is not an announcement in isolation. There's going to be a lot of people affected by this, businesses, community members, fami
lies and it goes on and on.”
Misty Macdonald, the new executive director of the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce also weighed in on the latest Sydney airport news, noting that active transportation infrastructure is vital to Atlantic Canada's current and future economic and social activities.
“The Strait Area Chamber of Commerce remains optimistic that the Board of Directors and Management of the J.A. Mccurdy Sydney Airport, along with partners in economic development will develop a recovery strategy to restore operations,” she wrote in a media statement.
Air service at Sydney was already on shaky ground after Air Canada recently extended its suspension of flights between Sydney and Halifax until Feb. 1.
It was the second time the service suspension had been extended, and flights between those two cities haven't taken place since early November.
Westjet had also announced route suspensions that include Sydney.
“We knew the airport was in a rough state and we knew COVID was playing a part but I really don't think many of us thought Air Canada would pull out completely,” said Earlene Macmullin, deputy mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
At Destination Cape Breton, there's also concern over Air Canada's announcement.
“Air access into our airport had been in a strong and growing position PRE-COVID and tremendous effort, led by the airport, had been invested into attracting and maintaining air service,” said Terry Smith, CEO of Destination Cape Breton.
“It is absolutely imperative for the future of our tourism industry that the Sydney Airport receive funding immediately to remain viable until we can get past this pandemic.”