Porter suspending Ottawa-Sudbury non-stop flights

A Porter plane taxis down the runway at the Ottawa International Airport in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Porter Airlines says it will be suspending its non-stop service between Ottawa and Sudbury after less than three months in operation.

In an email Monday, a Porter spokesperson says the airline has operated flights to the Greater Sudbury Airport (YSB) in northern Ontario for over 15 years but has seen less demand since the pandemic.

“We believe that more people are driving than in the past, given relatively short distances and business travellers are combining virtual and in-person meetings,” the airline said.

The Ottawa-Sudbury service was the only Porter flight currently operating out of the northern Ontario city. Charter airline Propair also operates a service between Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City six days a week.

Porter launched the non-stop service with seven flights weekly from the nation’s capital on May 1 after repositioning the route from Toronto Billy Bishop Airport.

The airline said at the time that the service would provide Sudbury with access to “Porter’s growing hub in the national capital and greater connectivity across North America.”

“We were hopeful it would lead to stronger performance, however, the results have not improved,” Porter says.

“Porter has grown extensively over the past three years and there are many markets with strong demand and new opportunities where we need to deploy aircraft. Passenger preferences will continue guiding us as we make network decisions.”

In a statement, the Greater Sudbury Airport confirmed the service effectively ends all Porter services out of the city.

“We understand the decision to be largely result of low passenger volumes, along with rising fuel costs and other factors within their operation,” spokesperson Christopher Pollesel said in an email.

“Despite Porter Airline’s decision to suspend service largely due to route under performance, the Greater Sudbury Airport has seen strong load factors from Air Canada, WestJet, Bearskin Airlines, as well as continuous growth from Propair, our newest commercial airline who operates service to Ottawa and Montreal.”

The final flight will operate on Sept. 7, 2026.

Porter announced new routes from the nation’s capital this spring, including a non-stop service to Kelowna and Windsor starting in May. A seasonal flight between Ottawa and Deer Lake, N.L. began on June 10.

• Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App