Air Canada announces changes to service out of Calgary

Air Canada logos are seen on the tails of planes at the airport in Montreal, Que., Monday, June 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Air Canada will be ceasing a number of flights from Calgary International Airport beginning this winter, the airline announced Wednesday.

Starting at the end of October, non-stop service to Ottawa, Halifax, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Cancun and Frankfurt will cease.

"We apologize for the impact on customers on affected routes, who will be offered alternate travel options, including re-routing over other airports, or a full refund," the Montreal-based carrier said in a statement.

"No layoffs are expected as a result of these changes."

The airline says it's all part of its plan to "improve the overall stability of the carrier."

It also said that an industry-wide shortage of pilots has resulted in "resource pressures" for Air Canada.

"Additional constraints are arising from challenges in the overall supply-chain in the complex aviation environment, including in maintenance parts supply chains, sometimes resulting in delays to return aircraft to service. This has led to a review of the network schedule to ensure resources are deployed most efficiently and productively against these current, ongoing industry considerations," officials said.

Despite these changes, Air Canada says it will increase its total flying capacity for winter 2023/24 by 12 per cent over 2022/23.

In its statement, Air Canada said it will remain committed to Calgary and the Western Canadian market and there will be no change to its one-stop connections from the city to hubs in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

Edmonton will have "one or two fewer daily frequencies to Calgary and Toronto," Air Canada said.