A low-budget Canadian airline will no longer offer service to Nashville amid an intense political and economic climate between the U.S. and Canada.
Flair Airlines, a Canadian ultra low-cost carrier headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, canceled all upcoming seasonal flights scheduled to Nashville International Airport (BNA) from Toronto, according to AeroRoutes, an online service which documents worldwide airline schedule and network changes.
The online service said Flair Airlines canceled flights to Nashville that were initially scheduled to resume on April 23 through June 15 and another round of seasonal flights scheduled between September 5 through October 22.
“I can confirm that Flair won’t be flying to Nashville this summer,” Kim Bowie, director of communications for Flair Airlines, said in a statement obtained by WKRN.
In addition to Nashville, the airliner is also reducing service to other U.S. locations, including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Springs.
The airliner reportedly made the changes last Thursday.
Travelers searching for alternative routes to Toronto or other Canadian cities still have the option to book service out of Nashville through the airliners WestJet and Air Canada, according to BNA’s website.
Flair Airlines began service to Nashville in 2022 with flights departing twice weekly from Edmonton on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta, Canada, is one of Nashville’s ten sister cities around the globe. Edmonton and Nashville have been sister cities since 1990.
On Monday, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development (TDTD) Commissioner Mark Ezell addressed Flair Airlines’ cancellations of flights to Nashville during a Tennessee House Finance, Ways and Means Committee meeting, saying that while approximately 18,000 seats will be lost, he is confident Tennessee’s tourism will prevail.
“We see travelers quickly react to political news and then we see that great marketing overcomes that traveler settlement,” Ezell said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Flair Airlines” by Flair Airlines.