Four-times weekly service targets £300m annual export market as Welsh government highlights trade opportunities with 35 Canadian firms
Cardiff International Airport in Wales, UK will boost its air cargo prospects with WestJet passenger flights to Toronto, Canada from 23 May next year.
The four times a week service will be the first direct air connection between Wales and Canada to be operated since 2008. The aircraft type has not yet been confirmed.
Jon Bridge, chief executive of Cardiff Airport, said that the new Toronto connection “marks an exciting milestone in our growth and major step forward in reconnecting Wales with North America”.
He also pointed to the “new opportunities for trade and investment” that the service will facilitate.
Eluned Morgan MS (member of the Senedd, the Welsh parliament), the first minister of Wales, said that the announcement represents “welcome news” for businesses both in Wales and Canada.
“With good connections to other Canadian cities, the new Toronto route will open up new economic opportunities for Wales in North America,” Morgan continued.
“We have around 35 Canadian companies in Wales, employing around 6,500 people, while Canada is an export market worth over £300m a year,” she pointed out.
Last year, UK freighter operator European Cargo, which is based at Bournemouth Airport in the south of England, expanded its operations to Cardiff with the addition of new flights to China. The flights are operated with four European Cargo A340-600 converted freighters.
