Air Transat is cancelling all flights out of Toronto until the spring

Major Canadian carrier Air Transat has just revealed that it is cancelling all flights to and from Toronto until the end of April.

The decision was made by the airline, which is based in Montreal and known for taking residents to sunny vacation destinations during the winter, due to the drastic reduction in air travel as Canadians continue to be urged to stay at home and avoid all non-essential trips.

A representative from the company said to blogTO that bookings have been severely impacted by ongoing travel restrictions and border closures, as well as "the numerous measures imposed by the federal government, including the requirement to present a negative COVID-19 test and to quarantine upon return to Canada."

"We must, therefore, revise our winter flight schedule, as we have been doing since the beginning of the pandemic, based on the evolution of the situation and demand," they continued.

It was on Jan. 7 that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally implemented a requirement for all passengers over the age of five to have proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test before being permitted entry to the country, which has proven to be a bit of a hassle for some Canadians who decided to go overseas.

One week later on Jan. 14, the province of Ontario issued a formal stay-at-home order in addition to its stringent lockdown in an attempt to lower daily new case counts, which Premier Doug Ford attributed in part to too much unnecessary travel.

Air Transat will continue to follow demand and fly from Montreal to the international destinations of Cancun, Holguin, Port-au-Prince, Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and Paris.