Oct 27, 2026
Getting to a few U.S. states from some of Canada’s biggest airports just got harder. Air Canada has confirmed it is dropping four seasonal U.S. routes starting next summer.
If you were hoping to fly nonstop from Vancouver to Nashville or from Toronto to Charleston in the summer of 2027 or beyond, you’ll either have to endure a stop over or fly an airline other than Canada’s national carrier.
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The cuts hit three of the country’s busiest airports. They arrive as Canadians’ air travel to the states remains well below where it was two years ago — even as the airline adds new American destinations elsewhere in its network.
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Which Air Canada routes are being cut?
The airline confirmed the cuts in an email to CTV News. Starting in summer 2027, Air Canada will no longer fly these four routes:
- Vancouver to Nashville, TN
- Vancouver to Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
- Toronto to Charleston, S.C.
- Montreal to Seattle, WA
In the email, Air Canada spokesperson Sean Davidson said the airline “regularly reviews its schedule” to keep capacity in line with customer demand and travel patterns.
Davidson said the airline will continue to serve Nashville, Raleigh-Durham and Seattle from other Canadian airports, so the cities themselves won’t disappear from Air Canada’s network.
According to schedule data reported by PAX News, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham will keep direct service from Montreal and Toronto Pearson International Airport. Seattle will keep direct service from Vancouver and Toronto Pearson. So for Vancouver travellers heading to Nashville or Raleigh-Durham, and Montreal travellers heading to Seattle, they will need to connect through another Canadian hub. Charleston is the sole exception: Air Canada will no longer fly there at all.
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Why is Air Canada pulling out of Charleston?
Toronto was Air Canada’s only route into South Carolina, so dropping it means the end for the airline’s service to the state, for now.
The route had already been under pressure. According to Charleston daily newspaper The Post and Courier, rising fuel costs shortened the 2026 season. Flights ended Sept. 6 instead of running through October as in previous years.
The airline told the paper it was discontinuing the seasonal route “for these commercial reasons.”
How far has cross-border air travel fallen?
The cuts reflect a U.S. travel market that has rebounded, but only partway. According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, Canadians made 2.6 million return trips from the U.S. in August, up 8.8% from August 2025.
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Air travel tells a different story. Return trips by air rose 3.6% year over year, but they remained 22.7% below August 2024 levels. Trips by car were down even further, at 27.4% below 2024.
In other words, Canadians are going back south, but not yet in the numbers that filled seasonal flights before 2025.
Where is Air Canada adding U.S. flights?
Retreating from four routes is not anywhere near a full retreat from the U.S. market. In fact, on Oct. 16, Air Canada announced three new summer 2027 routes. They fall under its transborder joint business agreement with United Airlines:
- Toronto to Louisville, KY.: Starting April 28 and increasing to daily service in May
- Montreal to Indianapolis: Daily from June 1 to Sept. 30
- Edmonton to Newark, N.J.: Four times weekly from June 1 to Oct. 17
United Airlines is adding its own routes under the same partnership. These routes are seasonal service from Newark to St. John’s, N.L., and new flights from Denver to Ottawa and Quebec City.
The route cancellations are more of a reshuffle than a shrinking map but they do mean fewer nonstops from Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal to mid-sized southern and Pacific Northwest cities. In their place come new links to the U.S. Midwest and New York area, along with more connections through United’s hubs.
For Canadians who flew these routes this year, the destinations will still be within reach next summer. Getting there, though, will likely mean a layover or a different airline.
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Leslie Kennedy served as an editor at Thomson Reuters and for Star Media Group, followed by a number of years as a writer and editor and content manager in marketing communications, before returning to her editorial roots. She is a graduate of Humber College’s post-graduate journalism program and has been a professional writer and editor ever since.
