Air Canada upholds YYZ-IST route suspension

Air Canada will continue to uphold a temporary suspension of its Toronto-Istanbul service, citing a decrease in travel demand to Turkey.

Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick said that while the carrier’s Toronto-Istanbul service was initially suspended on Jan. 17 due to slower passenger traffic during the winter, a continued decrease in passenger demand has seen the suspension upheld.

“We will continue to monitor market conditions and evaluate whether the route may be resumed profitably should travel demand conditions change,” Fitzpatrick told PAX. “In the meantime, we will continue to serve Istanbul in cooperation with our Star Alliance partners Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa via major European hubs such as Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and London-Heathrow. We continue to offer service to Istanbul on a codeshare basis to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines' service from Toronto-Pearson and Dubai, and on Lufthansa's service from Frankfurt, in addition to Lufthansa's service to Ankara from Munich.”