Porter Airlines resumed service to Billy Bishop Airport off downtown Toronto on Thursday and Air Canada joined in. Porter began its phased resumption of service with six flights each to Ottawa and Montreal and three to Thunder Bay. Porter has been idle since March of 2020. Air Canada, which has never stopped flying during the pandemic, returned to the island airport with five trips to Montreal daily on the same day that Porter resumed operations.
“We are pleased to restart our operations at Billy Bishop Airport and offer our customers the choice to fly in and out of Toronto Island, which is popular among business travellers for its proximity to the city centre and its ability to connect travellers to our global network through Montreal,” said Air Canada spokesman Mark Galardo. Porter wasn’t sitting on its hands over the past 18 months. It’s bought dozens of Embraer E195 jets to expand its North American routes and is setting up a hub in Air Canada’s sandbox at Pearson International.