Sydney-Halifax flights returning to J.A. Douglas McCurdy airport in October

Flights between Sydney, N.S., and Halifax are back after a nearly two-year absence, breathing new life into a regional airport that's been battered and bruised since a global pandemic put a big dent in the airline industry.

Quebec-based carrier Pascan Aviation is now selling tickets on return flights between Sydney and the capital, with flights starting on Oct. 7.

J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport CEO Myles Tuttle was all smiles after the announcement in front of more than 100 people inside the terminal on Thursday.

"It's been a challenge, one after another," he said.

COVID-19 temporarily grounded the industry and Sydney's airport never got a chance to recover. WestJet left the market and Air Canada stopped all flights for a time.

Time for some good news

Air Canada resumed with direct flights to Toronto and Montreal, but WestJet hasn't come back.

The airport was hit hard by post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022 and its tenacious and well-liked CEO Mike MacKinnon died.

Tuttle said it's about time for some good news.

"It's been a long time in the works and there's been even longer community demand for that, so we're really excited to deliver to our community today."

For 25 years, Pascan has flown to multiple destinations in Quebec and Labrador, and earlier this year announced service in New Brunswick, from Bathurst and Saint John to Halifax.

CEO Julian Roberts said Pascan has been eyeing the Sydney market for some time.

When WestJet and Air Canada stopped offering flights between Halifax and Sydney in 2022, that created an opening, he said.

"There was a huge market share there and now it's there for the taking," Roberts said. "Nobody is doing it, so why not?

"There were 36,000 people that used that service back in 2020, so all we really need is half of that to make our two flights work."

Pascan is starting with two flights a day on weekdays and one flight daily on weekends. Roberts hopes that'll grow in time.

The company plans to hire up to 20 employees in Sydney, including pilots, flight attendants and maintenance engineers, and will use two 33-seat twin-prop planes.

Round-trip flights between Sydney and Halifax cost around $500.

In time for Celtic Colours

Roberts said the company is working on airline connections through Halifax so passengers will be able to get themselves and their luggage to other destinations with one booking.

The company had planned to launch the Sydney-Halifax service in November, but Sydney airport officials pressed for early October to take advantage of travellers coming to Cape Breton for the Celtic Colours music festival.

Roberts said Pascan had the planes and staff already in place and was happy for the challenge.

"We pulled the team together and said, 'Look, can we get this done?' We put a safety management case together and yeah, we can do it."

Local politicians, businesspeople and tourism officials were on hand for the announcement Thursday and all cheered the news.

Tuttle said his first task as new CEO was to restore service to Halifax, but it wasn't his only mandate from the airport's board of directors.

The facility has undergone renovations and its runways are scheduled for major work. The airport has also refreshed its logo and brand, but Tuttle said there's more work to do.

"Connectivity through Halifax is huge … but we'd like to see direct flights to other destinations," he said.

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