Passengers could soon fly to eastern Canada from Manchester Airport as a new route launches in June with carrier Westjet.
The service to Halifax will cross the Atlantic in just more than six hours on the way to Halifax, and five hours on the return making it Manchester Airport鈥檚 shortest long-haul route.
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 offer onward connectivity to Westjet鈥檚 hub in Calgary and the rest of its domestic network including Ottawa and Edmonton.
Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said: 鈥淭his 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.
鈥淣orth 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.
鈥淲e 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 拢1bn investment underway and customers set to enjoy the benefits of our new state-of-the-art facilities later this year.鈥
WestJet already has several routes to the 海角视频 but this is the airline鈥檚 first at Manchester Airport.
Together with WestJet鈥檚 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.
Charles Duncan, WestJet Chief Strategy Officer, said: 鈥淲estJet is continuing to invest in our Atlantic gateway, and is now connecting Nova Scotia to Manchester, the global gateway to northern England,鈥 said Charles Duncan, WestJet Chief Strategy Officer.
鈥淭his new route connects the U.K, Nova Scotia鈥檚 largest in-bound tourism market, to new sources of tourists and will forge additional and stronger economic, business and leisure ties between Halifax and Manchester.鈥
Sheona Southern, managing director of Marketing Manchester, added: 鈥淲e are pleased to welcome the news of this new Halifax to Manchester direct route, which is excellent news for leisure and business travellers in the Canadian region who will enjoy direct access to the city within 20 minutes and a growing selection of high-quality hotels and attractions.
鈥淎s home to Coronation Street, known to be a firm favourite for Canadian TV viewers, visitors can tour the famous studios, alongside museums and striking waterside views at its home in Salford Quays.
鈥淲ith a growing cultural scene, exciting food, music and visitor attractions, there has never been a better time to visit Manchester.
鈥淐anadian investment in the 海角视频 has continued to grow steadily over the last three years and this new route will improve Manchester鈥檚 position in attracting more businesses from the Canadian region to set up in Greater Manchester.鈥
Four-times weekly flights to the Nova Scotia port city will be operated by a two-class Boeing 737-700 starting on 5 June.
