Flair Airlines departs Ottawa Airport

Why has Flair Airlines left Ottawa? The low-cost carrier is no longer serving the capital over what they say are high airport fees. CTV's Matt Skube explains.

Flair Airlines has departed the Ottawa International Airport, citing "insufficient demand to compensate for the airport's high fees."

Ottawa no longer appears as a destination on the Flair Airlines website. The capital was not listed on Flair Airlines summer 2024 schedule when it was released in November 2023 and was not on Flair's fall and winter 2024/spring 2025 schedule announced in August.

"We announced our intent to exit Ottawa several months ago due to insufficient demand to compensate for the airport’s high fees," a Flair Airlines spokesperson said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa Wednesday night.

"We hope to reengage with the airport authority under its newly appointed CEO."

On Monday, the Ottawa International Airport Authority announced the hiring of Susan Margles as the new president and CEO.

"We welcome Susan Margles as the new CEO of the Ottawa International Airport and look forward to working with her, with hopes of starting constructive conversations on how we can work together to serve more Canadians," the airline said.

"While Ottawa is not part of our immediate schedule, we’ll revisit opportunities as our fleet expands. All affected passengers have been accommodated.”

In a statement, the Ottawa International Airport (YOW) says, "YOW prides itself on keeping its aeronautical fees as low as possible, as paid by all airlines."

"In fact, based on published tariffs ours are among the lowest in the country for Tier 1 airports. The same applies to the Airport Improvement Fee (AIF), which is collected by the airline and remitted to the Airport Authority," Krista Kealey, vice-president of communications, said in a statement. "All Tier 1 airports levy an AIF, not just YOW. The CEO alone does not set fees – the exercise is complex and requires deep financial analysis before any changes are proposed for approval through our governance structure."

John Gradek, an aviation analyst at McGill University says complaints about the AIF are common.

"That's a standard Canadian carrier complaint about the AIFs in general. AIFs are here to stay. They're the primary source of revenue that the airports have in order to finance their expansion plans," he said.

Gradek added that Flair's departure should not be considered a major loss for Ottawa.

"You've got eight carriers currently operating into Ottawa. I think the Ottawa Airport has done a great job in attracting new carriers, so from a market loss perspective, not a big loss for the Ottawa traveller."

The Ottawa International Airport Authority charges aeronautical fees to air carriers and the Airport Improvement Fee to passengers.  A $35 fee is charged to each passenger to help pay for major infrastructure projects.

The airport collected $67 million through the Airport Improvement Fee, $22.8 million through Terminal Fees and $11.3 million for landing fees in 2023.

Flair Airlines launched operations in Ottawa in 2021. The airline previously operated flights to several destinations out of Ottawa, including Halifax, Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Cancun.

Flair Airlines says for the summer of 2025 it will prioritize "high-demand routes," with a 71 per cent increase in Vancouver-Toronto flights and a 29 per cent increase in Calgary-Toronto flights.

Porter Airlines, Air Canada, Air France, WestJet, United Airlines, Canadian North, Sunwing and Air Transat operate flights out of the Ottawa International Airport.

Kealey says Flair's departure from Ottawa will have a "minimal" impact on the airport.

"Almost every destination Flair served is covered by alternative carriers, with the exception of Orlando Sanford Airport (SFB). Several airlines, however, fly non-stop to Orlando Airport (MCO) and we are happy that Ottawa-Gatineau passengers will remain well served to this popular destination, among others."

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Matt Skube