Central Mountain Air (CMA) has announced it will suspend service on three regional routes. The routes will be suspended from February 3, 2021, to at least April 5, 2021. This action by CMA follows their decision earlier this month to suspended service from Prince George to Fort St. John as the company continues to deal with the crushing economic impact of the pandemic. No other airline operates these affected routes.

“Devastating declines in travel and extended provincial health advisories against non-essential travel have necessitated a significant scaling back of our scheduled operations for the foreseeable future,” commented Bob Cummings, Central Mountain Air’s CEO. “The federal government has been promising for almost a year that help is on the way to support these essential air services, but no such support has been received or clearly outlined. Our customers and the communities we serve are bearing the brunt of this inaction. In addition to supporting the local economies with the transport of essential workers, our airline and its dedicated staff fly customers to medical treatments and transport medical supplies, mail, and other vital cargo.

Route Changes

Recognizing the crucial link our airline provides to the communities we serve, CMA continued to operate these routes, with one short suspension, since the start of the pandemic (March April 2020) while sustaining losses. For more than ten months, CMA leadership has sought to engage the federal government in support of airports and airlines, particularly in more remote areas. However, the promised necessary financial support has not materialized. At this time, without direct government support to assist in maintaining operations until demand resumes, CMA can no longer continue the provision of these essential air services.

“We also need the continued support of the communities we serve,” continued Bob Cummings. If you rely on our services and would like to voice your view that scheduled air services are critical to your community, we ask you to contact your MLA, MP, Premier or the federal Minister of Transport. With government support, we would be proud to continue to serve our customers and maintain crucial airline connectivity in British Columbia and Alberta until demand returns. If there is any chance to save vital air service to these communities, action must be urgently undertaken.”

Central Mountain Air made this announcement:

Following the safe and successful July 7 relaunch of scheduled service to five British Columbian cities, Central Mountain Air (CMA) today announced the resumption of flights between three additional Alberta and British Columbia destinations: Fort Nelson (YYE), High Level (YOJ), and Edmonton (YEG). The new route schedule commences on September 14, 2020.

Modifications to Current Schedule

In response to customer demand, flights currently running between Fort St. John, Kamloops, Kelowna, Prince George, and Terrace on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays will be changed to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays effective August 9, 2020.

Partnering with Communities on Safety

As CMA resumes and grows its schedule, customer safety remains our primary concern. “We have worked closely with each of the communities we serve to ensure their health indicators and demand support scheduled service,” said Cummings. “We know how much these communities rely on our connectivity and are proud to partner with them on this schedule.”

Central Mountain Air (CMA) has announced nonstop flights between Alberta to two Northern B.C. destinations – Prince George (YXS) and Fort St. John (YXJ). The new routes start operating on May 3, 2020 and are available for booking immediately.

Details on the new routes are:

Flights between Dawson Creek and Fort St. John as well as Dawson Creek and Prince Georgewill be discontinued after March 30th. Service between Calgary and Edmonton after May 1^st will also be discontinued.

The change increases CMA’s number of business-friendly morning flights into Prince George to five, all five of which connect within 70 minutes to four other B.C. locations. “The increased capacity to Prince George is an important step to improving connection from Alberta to Northern British Columbia. We proudly support Central Mountain Air as they continue to grow at YYC and we look forward to furthering our partnership,” said Rob Palmer, Vice President, Strategy & Chief Commercial Officer, Calgary International Airport. Prince George Airport Authority (YXS) President and CEO Gordon Duke, added “We are pleased Central Mountain Air has further expanded their network out of YXS. This additional flight gives passengers choice in terms of schedule heading to YYC and beyond. We value our relationship with CMA and look forward to supporting them as they continue to grow their presence at our airport.”

Edmonton to Fort St. John is an exciting, previously unserved, nonstop route that we expect to be popular among those in the LNG and energy sectors, supporting the economic growth of Fort St. John,” said Cummings. We congratulate Central Mountain Air on expanding non-stop services to the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, strengthening EIA’s role as an air service gateway to the North,” said Tom Ruth, Edmonton International Airport President and CEO. “Direct flights will connect the energy industry of Fort St. John and Peace River Country to the energy manufacturing centre of Edmonton as well as allow quick, efficient connections to multiple international destinations and within Canada.” Shea De La Mare, Managing Director, North Peace Regional Airport, said “We are delighted to welcome Central Mountain Air’s new non-stop service linking Fort St. John and Edmonton. Passengers travelling for work or leisure on both ends of the route will appreciate this new connectivity, which will also contribute to North Peace Regional’s growing passenger numbers.”

Route Map: