Canada’s major airlines are grounding more than twenty cross-border U.S. routes this May, a sweeping move led by Air Canada, WestJet, Porter, and Flair Airlines. Destinations in California, Florida, New York, Texas, Nevada, and Washington are among the hardest hit. This follows an earlier pullback in April that eliminated connections like Calgary to Las Vegas and Vancouver to Palm Springs, signaling a deeper, more deliberate retreat.
Industry experts cite plummeting demand, escalating border tensions, and growing discomfort among Canadian travelers as driving forces behind this shift. Canadian entries into the U.S. have dropped sharply, with business travel down 40% in early 2025. Contributing factors include a weakened Canadian dollar, rising U.S. travel costs, and political volatility under President Donald Trump’s administration, marked by inconsistent border enforcement and controversial remarks.
Major route reductions include Air Canada scaling back flights from Montréal and Vancouver to key U.S. cities, WestJet canceling or suspending service from Vancouver, Edmonton, and Winnipeg, and Porter ending its Toronto–San Diego route. Flair Airlines has axed several leisure routes entirely.
As confidence in U.S. travel fades, Canada’s airlines are rerouting capacity to Europe. Air Canada is boosting flights to Paris and Frankfurt, WestJet is targeting London and Dublin, and even budget carriers like Flair are eyeing long-haul European options. This pivot comes as European destinations offer predictable entry, cultural appeal, and economic stability.
The U.S. stands to lose over $2.1 billion and 140,000 jobs as Canadian tourism contracts. For Canadian travelers, sentiment is shifting, with many now viewing the U.S. as uncertain and Europe as a safer, more stable alternative.
Source: Swifteradio.com
