WestJet linking St. John's to Hamilton, taking over old Swoop route

WestJet is launching a St. John's to Hamilton, Ont., flight this spring as well as resuming its service to Tampa, Fla.

The Hamilton route was initially flown by budget airline Swoop, which merged with WestJet in October, with Swoop being shut down.

The St. John's-Hamilton route will take off May 17 and will fly up to five times weekly until it concludes on Oct. 14.

"We recognize the importance of the return of WestJet's service between St. John's and Hamilton and are sincerely grateful for the overwhelming support and advocacy from the community," vice-president of external affairs Andrew Gibbons said in a statement.

"We heard loud and clear how critical connectivity from Ontario is for the region and we look forward to strengthening the connection between these two vibrant provinces."

The statement added that the Tampa route — which flew last year — resumes March 17 and will fly weekly until June 2.

The announcements come amid rapid contractions and expansions in airlines' offerings out of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In November, WestJet announced it was launching a seasonal flight from St. Johns to London's Gatwick airport in May. It's the St. John's International Airport's first direct route to Europe since 2019.

In late February, Porter Airlines announced it was introducing two new flights in and out of Newfoundland. Starting June 6 there will be a direct flight between St. John's and Ottawa and starting June 4 there will be a route between Deer Lake to Halifax.

Last summer, Porter announced it was expanding routes from St. John's with a non-stop flight to Toronto. Last year low-cost carrier Flair Airlines also announced new flights from St. John's and Deer Lake to Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.

Airport CEO Dennis Hogan welcomed the news that WestJet will be flying passengers into Hamilton, as it builds on the airport's other flight paths into Ontario.

"This route offers enhanced access to Ontario, which is our largest Canadian market, and echoes the positive response from travellers. We thank WestJet for seeing the potential in this route and look forward to continuing our partnership," Hogan wrote in the same statement.

The announcement comes after discount airline Lynx Air ceased operations last month. The company obtained creditor protection, citing rising operational costs, high fuel costs and exchange rates, among other complications.

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