WestJet Prices Are Going Up This Month & They Say Air Traffic Control Is To Blame

It's going to be a little bit more expensive to fly soon. WestJet prices are going to increase this month and it's all because of another aviation company. So get ready to pay a little more for flights soon.

The Canadain airline announced that it's increasing the surcharge for air traffic control services that travellers pay on domestic trips.

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It will range between $4 and $7 per person depending on how long the flight is.

That's because NAV CANADA, the country's air traffic control operator that's responsible for the civil air navigation system, raised its rates by almost 30% on September 1.

With the increase, WestJet has to pay $6 to $9 per guest.

To recover the costs of paying for that, there will be an added cost to all domestic routes starting on September 5.

"Burdening travellers who have been severely impacted by this pandemic with incremental costs will only serve to undermine Canada's economic recovery," said Ed Sims, president and CEO of WestJet, in a news release.

He noted that the airline is concerned this could further decrease the number of travellers that are buying tickets and getting on planes.

WestJet is looking into appealing the increase and if they're successful, the charge will be removed from domestic tickets.

The Canadian airline said that the situation they're in because of the COVID-19 pandemic is worsened with this hike that's out of their control.

Apparently some airports have made it known that there will be an increase to Airport Improvement Fees by as much as 52%.

While there's no word yet on whether that will affect ticket prices, WestJet said it doesn't help the situation at all.

That's not the only change that's happening with the airline this month.

As of September 1, there's a zero-tolerance policy for masks, meaning passengers will face penalties if they don't wear one.

That can include being denied entry, being removed from the plane and/or being banned from travelling with the airline for up to a year.

Air Canada has also handed out penalties to a small number of people who refused to comply with the mandatory mask rule.