KRALENDIJK- The start of flights by Canadian West-Jet between Toronto and Bonaire has been pushed back to the end of 2022, much to the regret of especially Canadian Travelers.

This has become clear during Bonaire’s Tourism Conference, held on September 27^th, and a presentation by aviation expert, Howard Mann. Initially WestJet had announced the start of regular flights to Bonaire per February 2021.

While Delta Airlines and American Airlines have been quick to re-establish previous routes to the island, WestJet has been more careful. While the carrier reputedly is still interested in flying between Toronto and Bonaire, they do so at the right time.

Measures

The implementation of restrictive measures by the Canadian Government for travel abroad by Canadians has been the biggest factor in WestJet’s decision to delay the launch of the new service in the first quarter of 2021.

While the restrictions by the Canadian Government have gradually been lifted, WestJet now is planning the launch of the service for the last quarter of 2022. Traditionally, there has always been a relatively big interest among Canadians to visit Bonaire, especially during the cold winter months.

WestJet

WestJet is currently the second-largest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada. Before the start of Covid, the airline was carrying an average of 66,000 passengers per day. In 2018, WestJet carried a total 25.49 million passengers, making it one of North America’s largest carriers. While initially focussing on the North American continent and the Caribbean as a ‘low-cost carrrier’, with a single type of aircraft, the airline is now also flying several wide-body aircraft to, among others, Amsterdam.