Canada’s WestJet To Launch St. John’s-London Gatwick Transatlantic Route

WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline, will open seasonal transatlantic service between St. John’s International Airport (YYT) and London Gatwick Airport (LGW) in 2024, marking YYT’s first nonstop service to Europe since 2019.

The Calgary International Airport (YYC)-based carrier has also scheduled its planned service between YYC and Reykjavík–Keflavík Airport (KEF) in Iceland, for which it gained approval last month. WestJet is also bringing back four seasonal transatlantic routes previously served in 2022 and adding a new route to Edinburgh Airport (EDI) in Scotland.

The YYT-LGW route will be flown 3X-weekly from May 1, 2024, to Oct. 25, 2024, with a Boeing 737-8 aircraft. Located in the eastern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, YYT has been endeavoring to fill its European route gap.

"Reestablishing nonstop transatlantic service from St. John's has been a strategic priority for the St. John's International Airport Authority," YYT CEO Dennis Hogan says in a statement. "This St. John's to London Gatwick route marks a significant air access milestone and demonstrates our commitment to providing passengers with convenient access to key destinations.”

WestJet Vice President for External Affairs Andrew Gibbons says the carrier “is proud to close the critical gap in air accessibility for the province by providing nonstop connectivity to one of Europe's most popular travel hubs,” adding that the route “reaffirms our commitment to the city of St. John's and the surrounding region, as we deliver on our promise to bolster leisure travel and two-way tourism options in eastern Canada."

Meanwhile, the airline will open YYC-KEF flights from May 15, 2024, flying the exclusive route 4X-weekly with a 737-8. WestJet last month was awarded a license to begin operating scheduled flights to Iceland by the Canadian Transportation Agency.

From June 20, 2024, the carrier will launch a new route between Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) in Nova Scotia and EDI, operating the service 3X-weekly with a 737-8. WestJet will also reinstate two YHZ transatlantic routes, flying to LGW 4X-weekly from April 29, 2024, and operating to Dublin Airport (DUB) 4X-weekly from June 19, 2024.

The airline will additionally reinstate two transatlantic routes from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), both to be flown with 737-8 aircraft. Service between YYZ and DUB will open March 14, 2024, and be flown daily. YYZ-EDI flights will be operated daily from May 14, 2024.

WestJet says it will also boost 787 frequencies between Calgary and Tokyo Narita Airport from 3X-weekly to daily from April 3, 2024.