Moncton airport gets 2 new routes to Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's-based PAL airlines is addingnew routes from Moncton to two different areas of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As of the first week of January, the airline will begin flying from MonctontoDeer Lake and fromMonctonto Wabushin Labrador.

Janine Browne, director of business development and sales at PAL airlines, said the airline has been lucky to be able to operate domestically without having to rely on transport or international travel, both of which were pummeled by COVID-19 travel restrictions

"We have been able to... continue offering essential air services throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, the Maritimes and Quebec," she said. "So we're really excited to be able to beef up that service."

Browne said the added routes were planned months before Air Canada's decision, announced this week, to indefinitely suspend flights to many places in Atlantic Canada, including Saint John and Fredericton, as of January 11.

Moncton was chosen because of its central location and proximity to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and parts of Quebec, she said.

Browne said the new flights will be especially useful when and ifthe agreement to waive self-isolation requirements to travellers within the four Atlantic provinces is reinstated.

The so-called Atlantic bubble, which made it easier to travel withinNew Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, was dissolved in late November when COVID-19 cases started rising.

"We certainlyare planning for the bubble to be open come this winter," she said, noting that even if it isn't, "there are essential [workers] who do need to move."

Julie Pondant, spokesperson for the Greater Moncton Romo LeBlanc International Airport, said PAL started service in Moncton in September of this yearwith a flight to St. John's, N.L.It's the only flight to that Atlantic province from New Brunswick.

"They're seeingthe potential in our markets to be able to to get more growth," Pondant said.

The announcement is good news in what's been a tough year for air travel industries, she said.

"The aviation industry has been hard hit. And when we see something positive like this happen, we certainly hope that it's a sign of better times to come."

Connections to Wabush and Deer Lake will be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and connections directly to Deer Lake will be on Sundays, Pondant said, calling it "good news"in what hasbeen a tough year for air travel industries.

"The aviation industry has been hard hit. And when we see something positive like this happen, we certainly hope that it's a sign of better times to come," she said.