Just in time for a busy travel season with the return of travel, family reunions, and the Queen's Jubilee boosting interest in travel throughout the U.K, WestJet has debuted new service between Toronto and Scotland's capital.
The inaugural flight of WS16 departed 02JUN from YYZ at 9:25 p.m. With the addition of the airline's latest connection to Europe, WestJet will now fly non-stop to five European destinations from Toronto this summer including four in the U.K.: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin, London-Gatwick and Barcelona, Spain.
"We are thrilled that Edinburgh is the final European connection to inaugurate from Toronto this summer, rounding out the restoration of our network and strengthening our offerings from Toronto. These cities are some of the world's most vibrant and iconic destinations and we are working diligently as demand for international travel continues to ramp up," said John Weatherill, WestJet Chief Commercial Officer.
"Seamless connectivity between Europe and Canada is critical to the recovery of Canada's travel and tourism industry. We look forward to welcoming more Canadians and global guests on board this summer as we continue to restore our network to pre-pandemic levels."
WestJet's newest transatlantic flight will operate during peak season, three-times weekly. WestJet currently offers service to two Scottish destinations with service from Toronto to Edinburgh and Glasgow and flights between Halifax and Glasgow.
| Route | Peak Frequency | Start date | Departure
(local time) |
Arrival
(local time) |
| Toronto – Edinburgh |
3x weekly | June 2, 2022 |
9:25 p.m. | 9:05 a.m.+1 |
| Edinburgh – Toronto |
3x weekly | June 3, 2022 |
10:25 a.m. | 12:42 p.m. |
Officials in Edinburgh were just as excited about the launch.
"Welcoming a new airline partner to our airport is always an exciting day and we are delighted to see the WestJet tailfin in Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh," said Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport.
"This new service will open up Canada and Scotland to travellers from both countries, whether that be seeing family and friends for the first time in a while, strengthening business connections with existing and new partners, or just experiencing the fantastic sights and culture that these two amazing cities have to offer. North America is one of our strongest markets and we hope that by making a success of this route it demonstrates the desire there is for greater direct connectivity and something we can work towards with our partners."
"Congratulations to WestJet on the launch of their new Edinburgh service which is very much welcomed by Scotland's tourism industry. Before the pandemic, Canada was one of our top international markets for visitors and growing. We have worked hard to keep Scotland top of mind here, but the return of direct connectivity is vital and will help support the recovery of our industry," added Chief Executive of VisitScotland, Malcolm Roughead.
"VisitScotland enjoys a very positive partnership with WestJet and we look forward to continuing to work closely with them to promote this new service. We know there is strong pent-up demand from Canadians to travel to Scotland. With WestJet now serving our two biggest cities there has never been a better time to discover Scotland. Our message and that of the Scottish tourism industry is simple we are open and cannot wait to welcome back visitors."
