By Dillon Collins
The path to Europe from Newfoundland and Labrador has never been clearer.
In partnership with the Provincial Government, the St. John’s International Airport Authority has entered into an agreement with WestJet to expand its footprint into Europe with flights to London, England; Dublin, Ireland; and Paris, France. The result will see Newfoundland and Labrador have direct access to Europe seven days a week from May until October.
It’s the kind of connectivity that bolsters tourism, trade, and business and provides critical inroads in global markets. Considering the damage done to the aviation industry in the COVID era, it is a massive win for the St. John’s International Airport Authority and CEO Dennis Hogan.
“We all went through tremendous upheaval due to COVID-19, the pandemic. However, I would think in many ways airports and other transportation infrastructure really had to grapple with, not only shut down, but then the maze of requirements to still have some activity,” Dennis shares, having taken on the role of SJIAA CEO in late 2022.
“It was some pretty dark days. I think that’s a fair statement. And I didn’t live it myself, as I mentioned. But from what others have told me, walking down the terminal building, which on an average day, we have peaks and valleys in terms of the arrivals and departures, but to go such extended periods with absolutely no one there, a very eerie feeling, I’m sure. And we still had to operate. We still had to do all the things to heat the facilities, to make sure the runways were cleared. So that took a lot of operational resources at a time when we were not generating any revenues. So that was another big challenge, too, how to essentially keep the lights on and the runways operational.”
Describing the road back to normal pre-pandemic levels as “a steady bounce back” with “incremental growth,” St. John’s International relaunched WestJet’s St. John’s to London-Gatwick transatlantic route in the Spring of 2024 to immense fanfare, justifying the route’s expansion in 2025 alongside the long-awaited return route to Dublin and – for the first time – a direct link to continental Europe with a flight to Paris.
“We were three days a week from, say, late April to the end of October last year to Gatwick. But now we actually have a flight every day of the week going to Europe, split between four days to Gatwick, two days to Dublin, and one day to Paris. Paris is the new route. We’ve never had a direct nonstop service to continental Europe before, so that’s a bit of a milestone. And my understanding is that that route is doing extremely well,” Dennis says proudly. “That bodes very well, I think, for the future. And if that materializes like we think, who knows what could happen next year? Maybe the frequencies are increased. They may decide to put another aircraft on the route, so that might up the frequencies for each location, potentially. Not to get ahead of ourselves. A lot of it is dependent on that, but it is certainly exciting. It’s great for access, particularly for the tourism and hospitality sector.
“We know that getting people here is challenging if we don’t have direct access. And that’s what people generally want. It’s normal to want to have a direct flight to your destination. And the more we can offer that, I think the better it becomes for our tourism operators, for the hotels, for people in that sector in our very busy summer season and the key there is, I think, on the shoulder seasons, to try to keep that activity going even longer.”
Returning to a near pre-pandemic peak annual passenger traffic of 1.4 million at YYT in 2024, the expanded reach into Europe, alongside an increase in direct domestic routes, including to the nation’s capital of Ottawa, are part of St. John’s International’s goal of creating an attractive proposition for both incoming and outgoing travellers.
“We’re on track, and we are forecasted to have additional growth in the next couple of years, but all of that is just forecasts, I guess. You look at what’s happening now with trade relations with the United States, and I don’t think many of us could have predicted even six months, 12 months ago that that could very well impact certainly the economy and by extension air travel. And, you know, maybe it means a little boost for those flights now that we have in Europe, that people may decide not to travel to the United States for their vacation and go to Europe instead,” Dennis ponders.
“We know there’s a strong demand here locally for people wanting non- stop flights to Europe. And what we’re really trying to do, too, is help the Provincial Government, Destination St. John’s, Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador, market Newfoundland and Labrador in Europe, so in France, in Ireland, in the UK, and other places in Europe, to get those planes coming in the other direction.”
Airports nationwide are all vying for the attention and services of major airlines like WestJet, Air Canada, Porter and PAL. It’s a constant showcase of not just your facilities but also of the city and province in question. Amidst the ultra-competitive world of air travel, and in a province with a billion- dollar tourism industry, putting the best foot forward is paramount.
“I’ve heard this said before, that there probably isn’t an airport or a community in the country that doesn’t want more air access and more activity,” Dennis says. “So we’re all competing in a sense, trying to get the attention of the airlines to get them to expand in our community. But we’re hardly the only ones doing that, and there’s only so many planes, so many pilots. So it’s definitely supply and demand driven.”
For the SJIAA, the bucket list reads of continued expansion and up- graded services, both foreign and domestic. Direct routes to the eastern seaboard of the United States are at the top of mind, as are regional connectivity, widened options into the Maritimes and intra-provincial connectivity.
“Domestically, I think having more frequency, more capacity, and turning some of these routes from seasonal into year-round. I think those would be the various levels of objectives we have to shore up air access,” Dennis says, once more expressing optimism on YYT’s prospects.
“It’s quite an exciting sector to be a part of, and I’m very optimistic about the future. We’ll get through this bump we have now with the United States and from a trade perspective, and I do think you’ll see continued growth. It’ll probably be a bit incremental, but over the long term, I think we’ll do well and provide the services that the people of the province are seeking.”
