Air Canada
Air Canada to suspend all scheduled services to the US after 26 April. Credit: terraplanner.

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Flag carrier Air Canada has decided to close all scheduled services to the US after 26 April amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The decision follows an agreement between Canada and the US to continue to enforce border restrictions by 30 more days. The last scheduled commercial flight from the US to Canada will take off on 26 April.

Air Canada expects to resume services to the US on 22 May, which is dependent on additional controls, if any, past that date.

As part of this move, the carrier has waived change fees for affected customers with bookings within this period, so that they can reschedule their travel for no extra fee.

Air Canada has reduced its schedule by more than 90% due to Covid-19 since 16 March.

Travel restrictions between the two countries were initially announced on 21 March, but Air Canada continues to operate flights to 11 US destinations from its three Canadian hubs.

The limited service was maintained to assist the repatriation of Canadians.

The carrier recently completed its special flight operation to bring back thousands of stranded Canadians home.

Under this programme, undertaken in collaboration with the Canadian Government, approximately 6,600 Canadians from Morocco, Spain, Ecuador, Peru, Algeria, Argentina, and Colombia have been repatriated.

The largest domestic and international airline in the country, Air Canada serves more than 51 million customers.

Last month, the carrier started operating its aircraft for cargo-only flights through its Air Canada Cargo division to Europe.

Global confirmed cases of Covid-19 have surpassed 2.5 million while the death toll stood at 177,466.