Manchester Airport has revealed its quickest ever trans-Atlantic route will launch later this year.
Direct flights to Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada, will start in June with WestJet, which will start operating from the Northern gateway for the first time.
The service will cross the Atlantic in just more than six hours on the way to Halifax, and five hours on the return.
It will be Manchester Airport’s shortest long-haul route and is the latest addition to its departure board, with services to Dhaka, Sylhet, Shanghai and Boston already announced for this year.
Halifax is the capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and is a major economic centre with a large concentration of government and private sector companies.
The route will enable passengers to connect onto a wide range of services to other Canadian destinations, such as Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton.
Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said:
“This will be the fifth long haul route to launch at Manchester Airport in 2020, underlining the role we play in giving people and businesses across the North direct access to key tourist destinations and economic hubs.
“North America is a hugely popular market for the 22m people living and working in our catchment area and I am sure this service to Halifax will be welcomed by leisure and business passengers alike.
“We look forward to welcoming WestJet to Manchester Airport and supporting their growth here in the years ahead. It is an exciting time to start flying from Manchester, with our £1bn investment underway and customers set to enjoy the benefits of our new state-of-the-art facilities later this year.”
Halifax’s tourism industry showcases Nova Scotia’s culture, scenery and coastline. There are several museums and art galleries in downtown Halifax.
Halifax has numerous National Historic Sites, most notably Citadel Hill (Fort George). Just outside the urban area, the iconic Peggys Cove is internationally recognised and receives more than 600,000 visitors a year. Downtown Halifax is home to many small shops and larger malls, and is a major shopping area. The area is home to approximately 200 restaurants and bars, offering a wide array of world cuisines. There are also more than 60 sidewalk cafes that open in the summer months. The nightlife is made up of bars and small music venues as well as Casino Nova Scotia, a large facility built partially over the water.
WestJet already has several routes to the UK but this is the airline’s first at Manchester Airport. Together with WestJet’s regional airlines, WestJet Encore and WestJet Link, the airline offers scheduled services to more than 110 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe and to more than 250 destinations in over 20 countries through its airline partnerships.
