Porter spreads wings in N.L., linking St. John's to Ottawa and Deer Lake to Halifax with new routes

Porter has announced it’s launching two new routes out of Newfoundland this summer, one linking St. John’s to Ottawa and the other linking Deer Lake to Halifax. (Henrike Wilhelm/CBC)

St. John’s travellers looking to get to Canada’s capital have a new direct flight coming this summer, something Porter Airlines boasts is the first time a Canadian carrier has served the route in five years.

Porter announced in a press release Tuesday morning that a daily round trip between St. John’s International Airport and Ottawa is starting June 6.

“We are thrilled that Porter is addressing a key gap in our market by adding a non-stop route from YYT to Ottawa,” said St. John’s International Airport Authority CEO Dennis Hogan in the statement.

The 132-seat single-aisle aircraft Embraer E195-E2 will be flying the route.

Deer Lake linked up

Starting June 4, Deer Lake will also get a direct route to Halifax.

In Porter’s statement, Deer Lake Regional Airport president and CEO Tammy Priddle said the airline has been building its domestic and international networks.

“The daily service into Halifax Stanfield provides access to our region for business, tourism, family and friends, while at the same time connecting our communities beyond the region,” said Priddle.

In 2023, she added, passenger volume was seven per cent below pre-pandemic 2019 levels, so increasing the airport’s capacity is important to economic recovery.

Premier Andrew Furey, whose district is Humber-Gros Morne, also welcomed the news that Deer Lake will be getting a new connection to the mainland, saying in a statement the route will open up opportunities and help bolster N.L.’s “air access.”

The aircraft will be the 78-seat De Havilland Dash 8-400.

Air Canada already offers a route between Deer Lake and Halifax.

The dual announcements from Porter come amid a time of contractions and expansions in airlines’ offerings out of Newfoundland and Labrador.

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 between St. John’s and Deer Lake to Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo.

In December WestJet announced a non-stop flight between St. John’s International Airport and London’s Gatwick airport, which will launch in May and wrap up in October. It will mark the first European connection for St. John’s since 2019. The provincial government also kicked in a financial incentive to make the route happen.

On Monday, discount airline Lynx Air ceased operations as the company obtained creditor protection, citing rising operational costs, high fuel costs, exchange rates, among other complications.