Cancun, Q.R. — Four of Canada’s main airlines have said they will suspend travel to Cancun until June. The airlines have announced their suspension to all sun and sand destinations, including Mexico, until varying dates in June.
Their announcement to extend the suspension of flights comes after the January 31 announcement of flight suspensions until April 30 by the federal government. However, with the rise in covid cases across Canada, four of the country’s major airlines say they will extend those dates yet again.
Air Canada says they will suspend flights until June 1. WestJet says they will not resume flying into Cancun until after June 4, while AirTransat says their planes will remain grounded from sun and sand destinations until June 14. Sunwing, another major carrier for Canadian travelers, says they will not be flying south until after June 23.
The suspended flights were implemented primarily to discourage leisure travel to southern Caribbean areas such as Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic as Canada grapples with its third wave alongside its vaccine rollout.
WestJet President and CEO Ed Sims said in a release that the decision was made with the expectation that as more Canadians are vaccinated, government policy will change.
“Following measures announced by the Canadian government, our operations are temporarily suspended until June 14, 2021. We expect to restart our operations in mid-June, which marks the start of summer demand,” said chief operations officer Annick Guerard of AirTransat.
Lack of demand is also a factor for the top four airlines, which have seen an unprecedented drop in bookings due to entry requirements into Canada for returning citizens.
