WestJet's direct London flight gives St. John's its 1st European connection since 2019

WestJet announced Wednesday it will launch a direct flight from St. John's to London this spring, with a helping hand from Newfoundland and Labrador taxpayers. 

Starting May 1 and ending on Oct. 25, flights will be taking off three times a week between St. John's to London's Gatwick airport. 

The announcement gives the airport its first direct routes to Europe since 2019.

"With this expansion, we are reopening St. John's to the world, and the world to St. John's," said Andrew Gibbons, WestJet's vice-president of external affairs. "Also we are addressing the great injustice of having to go west to go east."

The flight from St. John's will depart at 12:15 a.m. NT and arrive 9 a.m. GMT. The return flight will depart 11 a.m. GMT and land in St. John's at 1:15 p.m. NT.

According to its website on Wednesday morning, prices for the flights vary, from $393 to $747 per flight.

What did it take to woo WestJet?

The event announcing the flight, at the Majestic Theatre in downtown St. John's, opened with remarks from Tourism Minister Steve Crocker and was attended by politicians, business owners and airport executives.

"While this is a WestJet investment, this is your achievement," Gibbons told them. "The community asked for more from WestJet. We've heard you and we listened." 

Premier Andrew Furey, asked if the provincial government ponied up cash to lure WestJet back with an international flight, said the government gave $3.75 million to all the airports in the province in this year's budget to use as they see fit.

Furey said the details of the agreement are between WestJet and the St. John's International Airport Authority.

A statement from a government spokesperson said "it is important to note that the more successful the route is, the less SJIAA will end up paying out. Our hope is that this route is so successful that there will be no financial support needed."

Gibbons thanked Furey in his speech, saying the premier has "personally travelled and invested time to get to know us better" for the past year.

WATCH | London may be calling, but other destinations are not for WestJet : 

London’s calling — and here’s how St. John’s wooed WestJet for a direct flight

1 year ago

Duration 1:39

WestJet’s Andy Gibbons says every mayor and premier are clamouring for a piece of the airline and competition for flights is cutthroat. Gibbons explains why a new direct flight from St. John’s to London’s Gatwick airport will stick — and why other routes aren’t a priority.

"You also appointed a tireless tourism minister who texts me every day looking for routes and investment," Gibbons said with a laugh.

Furey said re-establishing a European connection was a major priority for his government. 

"I cannot begin to explain what this means for Newfoundland and Labrador," Furey said. "The enormous impact it will have. The tremendous potential it will unlock. The new relationships which will form. This is a door opening for an explosion of potential for our people and our industries."

The London flight is the second route announcement in as many weeks for St. John's International Airport, after Flair Airlines launched direct routes to Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo.

"We're going to continue leading the charge on air access," said Dennis Hogan, CEO of the St. John's International Airport Authority. "We are on the cusp of some really great things in re-establishing this connectivity with all of our partners, everyone gathered here today."

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