WestJet Is Slashing Even More Flights In March & Slammed Canada's 'Stagnant' Travel Rules

There's bad news on the horizon if you were hoping to take a trip next month, as WestJet has confirmed that it will continue to slash flights by up to 20% throughout March.

In a notice on Monday, February 7, the Canadian airline confirmed that more routes would be consolidated up until March 31 at the earliest.

It's the third month in a row that the company has announced significant cutbacks to its services, after making similar moves ahead of both January and February 2022.

While previously the airline had partially blamed the Omicron variant's impact on staffing levels, its latest statement suggests the cancellations and changes are a result of Canada's tight travel measures.

“For two years, WestJet has gone above and beyond to keep our guests safe throughout their travel journey,” said Harry Taylor, the company's interim president and CEO in the notice.

“Travel advisories, restrictions and testing requirements were meant to be temporary, yet our industry has now reached an impasse that is severely impacting the recovery of our airline and sector," he continued.

The company's CEO went on to call on the federal government to bring travel restrictions "in line with our global counterparts, reflective of current data and once again makes travel accessible and affordable for Canadians.”

The notice says that Canada is the only G7 country to still require pre-departure and on-arrival PCR testing for travel, before describing Canada's refusal to budge on current measures "disappointing" and "stagnant in its approach."

WestJet says impacted travellers will be notified of any changes to their itineraries via email. The company says all flexible change and cancel guidelines, as well as schedule change refund policies remain in place.

It's the latest in a series of cancellations from multiple Canadian airlines, as the industry continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

It may not be all bad news, though. Speaking on February 4, senior public health official Dr. Theresa Tam said that travel measures must be "reevaluated in the days and weeks to come," as the government plans for what's next.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.