If you're planning on flying from Prince George to Vancouver or Calgary, Air Canada and WestJet are still providing that service, but the frequency of those flights to and from YXS will likely be cut due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Passengers expecting to fly in and out of Prince George Airport will have fewer options to make their domestic flight connections as a result of reduced or suspended schedules announced this week.
"You'll still have access to the large hubs that we've had before, admittedly it will be on likely a reduced schedule and at this point we don't know for sure which flights are coming out and how frequently that will be," said Prince George Airport Authority president and CEO Gordon Duke.
"Air Canada has already reduced their domestic network by about a third and that initial cut did not feature flights to Prince George. What you may see is more daily cancellations that happen while Air Canada and WestJet reduce their networks overall. They're still serving Prince George, but instead of five flights every day you may see three."
Air Canada announced on Thursday it is reducing its seat capacity by 50 per cent. It has laid off 5,100 flight attendants at least through April and has reduced its domestic network from 62 airports to 40. The airline suspended most of its service to northwestern B.C., cutting flights to Prince Rupert and Sandspit (Haida Gwaii) for the month of April.
WestJet is cutting in half the number of flights to domestic destinations but will continue service to all of its Canadian destinations. It urges passengers to check the status of flights they've booked before leaving for the airport.
As of Tuesday, Pacific Coastal Airlines will suspend all flights with plans to resume scheduled operations on Sunday, May 3, if conditions of the coronavirus crisis will allow it. Pacific Coastal provides service to 16 B.C. destinations, including Victoria, Vancouver, Trail, Cranbrook, Powell River, Williams Lake and Tofino.
“This was a difficult, but necessary decision to take,” says Pacific Coastal Airlines’ president Quentin Smith, in a statement posted on the company website. “Given the rapidly deteriorating situation and the need to be socially responsible during this state of emergency, we have no other choice than to take this drastic step to protect the health and safety of our employees, the public, and the financial stability of our airline.”
The regional airline will continue to operate WestJet Link service to Prince George unless otherwise directed by WestJet.
Central Mountain Air is temporarily reducing its schedule starting next Saturday and that reduced service will continue at least until May 3. The changes will mean CMA will fly three days per week (Monday, Wednesday,Thursday) to Edmonton, Fort St. John, Kamloops, Kelowna and Terrace/Kitimat, and two days per week (Monday, Thursday) to Fort Nelson. The regional airline will temporarily suspend service to Smithers.
"What they're doing is compressing their operation to keep it going," said Duke. "This is really tough on airlines and airports. We know as an airport we're a key piece of infrastructure for the community so we're going to be staying open and airlines want to stay operating, but at some point you have to recognize you're bleeding cash.
"People are being told to hunker down and that's what's best for society right now."
Duke advises against travelers going to airline ticket agents at the airport to cancel or rebook flights and said it is easier to make those changes with the airline website.
"As you can imagine, the airlines are pretty overwhelmed with the amount of changes they're having to do," Duke said. "People have been coming out to the airport, but it's really tough because those folks have been processing passengers for day-of flights and often can't do the long process of canceling and rebooking a flight while they deal with passengers trying to get on an existing flight right now."
WestJet requires one day's notice for changes or cancellations without penalty for travel in March and will need at least two days notice for penalty-free changes or cancellations for flights in April. The changes can be made online at westjet.com. Air Canada requires two days notice before departure for changes on its flights for travel up until April 30. Those changes can be made online at aircanada.com, or the airline's app or through the Air Canada contact centre.
Duke says there are anywhere from 700-800 people whose ground operations/front-line service jobs depend on airport operations and many of those workers are now facing layoffs. He oversees a staff of 36 at the airport authority who are now mostly working at home or on staggered shifts to minimize contact. The airport is using the reduction in passengers and flights to focus on cleanup/painting duties at the terminal and has accelerated staff training programs originally planned for later in the year. The restaurant in the terminal is closed.
Duke does not anticipate any layoffs within the airport authority and will instead cut capital projects to defer costs. He suggested some of the staff will get involved in community services as delivery drivers for organizations such as Meals On Wheels.
"This is pretty extreme times for us and at the end of the day we recognize people want to be home, they want to be safe and healthy and we're going to do everything we can to make that happen," he said.
"We're cautiously optimistic when you look at the trajectory of this that by summer we should be OK and returning back to some kind of normalcy. We''re planning eight weeks out but that's sort of a best-case scenario. This has affected every aspect of all of our lives."
