Air Canada will return to the West Kootenay Regional Airport with flights to and from Vancouver starting June 28, 2021. 

The Air Canada Express flights will be operated by Jazz Aviation LP. Flights will be available on Monday, Thursday and Friday afternoons on upgraded Dash 8-Q400 aircraft with 78 seats.

“Air Canada’s return is promising news for West Kootenay travellers planning to get where they need to go now and where they want to go once restrictions are eased,” says Castlegar Mayor Kirk Duff.

“As the regional airport which previously saw 80,000 passengers a year, we are committed to returning service to what it was before the pandemic – when it’s safe to do so — and this announcement is one step in that direction.”

Air Canada suspended flight service to the airport in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Central Mountain Air (CMA) began offering flights out of Castlegar in October 2020. CMA recently announced plans to increase their flight schedule in June to include flights seven days a week. They also plan to add a larger aircraft that will fly later in the day on Fridays and Sundays.

WKRA has remained open through the pandemic for general aviation, medical air and cargo service, and the Southeast Fire Centre.

RELATED: Central Mountain Air increases Castlegar flights

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