Flair Airlines has confirmed it will suspend all flights from Saskatchewan, ending its thrice-weekly service from Saskatoon to Toronto next month.

A statement from the Edmonton-based airline says the last flight will be on November 25, as the budget airline focuses on “high-demand routes” like Vancouver to Toronto and Calgary to Toronto.

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Flair began flying from Saskatoon in 2020. In 2022, the the airline stopped its flights from Regina, and in 2023, it canceled its Saskatoon-Calgary service.

In a statement, the Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport called the decision unfortunate.

“While it is unfortunate that the airline has made the decision to suspend flights, we continue to actively discuss and pursue the effective return of Flair to Saskatoon,” he said.

“Currently, Flair only operates the Toronto route three days per week and therefore this route remains well served by other airlines (seasonally and year-round) to ensure our community’s connectivity to these major destinations .

Other airlines still flying from the airport include Air Canada, West Jet and Rise Air.

Flair Airlines said it plans to add more planes to its fleet in 2025, which would then allow it to revisit the most in-demand routes across Canada.

Flair struggled for years to stay solvent and within regulatory rules, as the airline repeatedly crossed paths with the courts.

In January, Flair CEO Stephen Jones said he was suspending expansion plans for at least a year due to plane delivery delays and heavy debts, including $67.2 million in taxes. unpaid debts owed to the federal government.

In 2023, Flair saw four of its planes repossessed in the middle of the night after aircraft leasing manager Airborne Capital claimed the company had routinely defaulted on lease payments amounting to millions dollars over the previous five months.

— with files from Shane Clausing of CKOM and the Canadian Press

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