Next year’s addition of WestJet service between Calgary and Sudbury isn’t the only new addition at the Greater Sudbury airport.
While the twice-weekly return flights to Calgary made headlines this week, the airport also saw the addition of three weekly return flights to Toronto via Air Canada this month.
The addition has been sought ever since a pandemic-era slump in airline traffic saw direct flights to Toronto decline.
Pre-pandemic, there were six to seven daily flights to Toronto, and as of earlier this year they’d dropped to two.
That said, Greater Sudbury Airport Authority CEO Giovanna Verrilli clarified to Sudbury.com earlier this year that Air Canada is using larger planes now, whose equivalent to pre-pandemic flight loads would be four to five aircraft.
At the time, they were working on getting a third daily flight to Toronto, and they’ve since gained almost half that, at three additional flights per week, airport Passenger Experience and Aviation Security manager Christopher Pollesel told Sudbury.com this week.
“It’s going to take a temporary pause in December, and it’s coming back in January and we do anticipate it to remain indefinitely from January onward.”
Although Pollesel said there’s a strong demand for flights to and from Toronto, ““The issue we’re seeing overall are the same constraints that airlines are facing which were exacerbated by the COVID pandemic.”
Staffing issues throughout the system have left it in “a very fragile state, so recovery is slow, especially in the regional market.”
Within these constraints, WestJet announced this week their addition of two weekly flights to and from Calgary, marking their return to the Greater Sudbury Airport after departing in 2018.
At the time, they operated flights to and from Toronto, with their upcoming service to Calgary “really exciting news; it’s historic because it’s never been offered before,” Pollesel said. “There’s a great amount of connections within their network out of Calgary.”
Prior passenger surveys revealed a strong demand for westbound flights of this nature, which link them up to a whole new network of flights, and Pollesel said that WestJet must have gathered similar evidence it would be successful.
The new twice-weekly service is anticipated to begin on June 12, 2025, with flights offered Thursdays and Sundays, departing Sudbury at 3:25 p.m. and arriving in Calgary sometime after 5 p.m. Mountain Time.
Flights from Sudbury to Calgary on June 12 are currently listed on the WestJet website as costing $295.45.
The addition of regular Calgary and Toronto flights is anticipated to drive passenger counts, which dropped from a pre-pandemic count of 245,722 in 2019 to a pandemic-era slump of 54,251, since partially recovered to 130,000 in 2023.
So far, Pollesel said that 2024 is shaping up to carry a passenger count only slightly higher than last year’s 130,000, but that he anticipates 2025 will bring the airport into a better position of recovery.
Meanwhile, he said the airport has continued to work on its passenger experience. Last year saw the Fly Sudbury Café & Lounge open, the pre-boarding area is currently being expanded and additional seating, including chargers and work desks, are being added to the airport.
Looking forward to the addition of Calgary-direct flights in 2025, Pollesel said, “We’re very excited to have this route, but the future of the route will be dictated by the demand of it. … We’re encouraging everyone to come out, use the service, and share with everyone that WestJet is offering this flight.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
