AN AIRPORT is increasing its connections this summer with 50 new flights a week to six destinations.
Staff at Gatwick Airport waved off the first-ever direct scheduled service from the UK to Quebec City, yesterday afternoon.
Passengers can now fly from Gatwick to six destinations in Canada, including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary and Halifax, along with existing services to Toronto and Calgary.
Air Transat is operating three weekly flights to Montreal - increasing to daily flights from June - alongside a once-a-week service to Quebec City.
The airline has also increased its flights to Toronto to a daily service with two flights a day from late June.
This will be complementing the daily operation WestJet operates between Gatwick and Canada's most populous city.
WestJet will also be operating six flights a week weekly to west-coast Vancouver and four flights a week to Halifax, the provincial capital of Nova Scotia.
This is in addition to the service to Calgary, which leaves three times a week.
Stephanie Wear, vice president of aviation development, Gatwick Airport said: “With so many people in the UK having close connections with Canada, we are delighted to be able to offer Gatwick passengers such easy and widespread access to fantastic destinations across the country.
“From the spectacular landscapes of the Rockies and Nova Scotia, to vibrant cities with an array of wonderful sights, it’s really exciting to have so many more opportunities to visit Canada from Gatwick.
“It’s also great news for those wishing to see family and friends, or conduct business across the Atlantic.”
According to data from Destination Canada, more than 900,000 tourists travelled to Canada from the UK in 2019, making the UK Canada’s largest long-haul market.
Meanwhile, data from Visit Britain shows that 850,000 Canadians visited the UK in 2018.
Destination Canada research also shows Vancouver is the most sought-after place in the country for potential UK visitors to go on holiday, closely followed by Toronto and Niagara Falls, then Montreal and Quebec City, meaning Gatwick passengers now have easy access to each of the top five destinations in Canada.
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