Pascan Aviation (P6, Montréal Metropolitan) has warned that it will have to make cutbacks to its network and lay workers off as a result of the Quebec government deciding to end an air travel subsidy scheme to some remoter parts of the Canadian province. In a memo to employees obtained by Radio-Canada, the airline said it would have to eliminate flights to “certain regions which are not financially viable.”
The programme provided aid to offset operating deficits resulting from the pandemic so carriers could maintain services to areas such as Nunavik, the Lower North Shore, and the Magdalen Islands, all of which only see limited air travel.
The Quebec government approved CAD10 million Canadian dollars (USD7.3 million) in its 2023-2024 budget to extend the scheme but opted not to renew it in September. Pascan Aviation said it learned of the decision earlier this week.
Joël Arseneau, Parti Québécois MP for the Magdalen Islands, told the broadcaster: "The Legault government is completely abandoning the regions and its duty to help airline services in our regions. We're completely isolated on the Magdalen Islands, and we're entirely dependent on maritime or airline services."
Geneviève Guilbault, the province's transport minister said airlines had bounced back since the pandemic, and "two years later, most carriers have recovered or exceeded their pre-pandemic traffic levels."
But according to Arseneau, abandoning the programme means remote communities will suffer if the number of flights to them is reduced, giving the example of people travelling to Québec for treatment and local populations becoming dependent on independent workers. A separate Quebec government plan to boost tourism with subsidised flights has failed, he said.
Pascan Aviation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ch-aviation.
Pascan Aviation currently operates a fleet of six Saab 340Bs and three Jetstream 32s, the ch-aviation fleets module shows, on 18 routes between eight destinations.
