Air Canada suspended flights from Smithers having impact on residents and COVID-19 recovery, says MP

Sep 15, 2020 | 12:05 PM

SMITHERS—Member of Parliament for the Skeena-Bulkley Valley, Taylor Bachrach, issued a letter to Air Canada Chief Executive Officer, Calin Rovinescu regarding the suspension of Air Canada flights from Smithers, and the impacts its having on the community.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw the suspension of Air Canada flights between Smithers and Vancouver on April 1, with an announcement to have flights reinstilled on July 1st. “On multiple Occasions Air Canada pushed back the date for resuming service to Smithers and, currently, Air Canada claims that flights will resume October 1st,” reads the letter by Bachrach.

“Each time Air Canada delays resuming service, residents who booked flight prior to the new resumption date have their tickets cancelled.”—Letter by Taylor Bachrach, MP Skeena-Bulkley Valley

Bachrach continues by saying that “to his understanding” residents have not been provided refunds and instead have been reimbursed in flight credits. “These credits are often used to fly out of Terrace, B.C., which is a two-and-a-half hour drive away from Smithers. Furthermore, the cost of flights from Terrace is often substantially lower than flights from Smithers and residents are not reimbursed the difference in fare.”

According to the MP the airline says lack of demand is the reason for postponing resumption of flights and adds that “recurring postponements and ticket cancellations have severely undermined consumer confidence.”

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“With no confidence that flights will actually resume when Air Canada states they will, residents do not want to book flights, which in turn, increases the chance that Air Canada will further delay a resumption of service.”—Letter by Taylor Bachrach, MP Skeena-Bulkley Valley

Bachrach goes on to add that without Air Canada flights coming in and out of Smithers, the Smithers Airport could be affected financially, as it relies on Air Canada flights as one of it’s two operating airlines.

At a recent meeting with community leaders and stakeholders it was agreed to ask for the return of one flight per day, as the two flight per day promised return for October may not be feasible for the various reasons listed above. “It was suggested that a reduced schedule of one flight per day would be preferable to another round of cancellations, at least as an interim step,” continued the letter.

Bachrach adds that the lack of scheduled flights is not only impacting Smither’s COVID-19 economic recovery but that of neighbouring communities as well.

by Veronica Beltran

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Air Canada suspended flights from Smithers having impact on residents and COVID-19 recovery, says MP

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