(Reuters) – Canadian tour operator Transat AT Inc said on Thursday it would resume some flights to Europe and the United States, as well as domestic flights across major Canadian cities from July 23.
The company said it would offer a new flight schedule for 22 destinations till October 31, and will gradually reopen travel agencies in its network starting June 15.
However, Transat would keep flights suspended to certain destinations in Europe and the United States till October-end due to COVID-19 and its impact on the tourism industry.
The tour operator is also suspending all its direct flights to Europe and the South from Vancouver and Quebec City, the company said.
Transat last year accepted Air Canada’s all-cash buyout bid of C$520 million ($396 million), and the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.
However, EU antitrust regulators have said the deal may result in higher prices and less choice for flights between Europe and Canada.
Canada is now narrowly easing some border restrictions to allow immediate family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents separated because of the coronavirus pandemic to reunite, officials said earlier this week.
(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
