Swoop international service returns to Winnipeg as airport hopes for uptick in passengers

Passengers lined up on Nov. 1, 2021 for Swoop Airlines' nonstop flight to Mesa, Ariz. - its first international flight since March of 2020.

Winnipeg -

Passengers on Monday’s 12:15 p.m. flight from Winnipeg Richardson International Airport en route to Arizona were on board for more than just warmer temperatures.

The flight marked the return of Swoop’s international service from Winnipeg’s airport.

“This is a fantastic day for us. This is the first Canadian carrier now, and really what I would call the start of our sun destinations program,” said Barry Rempel, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Airport Authority.

The flight is Swoop’s first since March of 2020 to a sun destination.

Swoop President Charles Duncan said the pandemic has been very tough on the airline industry as a whole.

“Seeing a full flight today really just helps to lift our spirits and know that the recovery is coming. We’ve got fantastic deals and to me, this is a sign of life coming back to normal,” Duncan said.

In addition to Mesa, Ariz., Swoop is offering direct flights to three other sun destinations—Orlando, Fl., Puerto Vallarta and Cancun, Mexico. Those flights will begin over the next month and will last throughout the winter season, Duncan said.

Monday's full flight to sunnier weather was a welcome sight to Rempel, as well. He said the airport began to see an uptick in passenger volumes over the summer, and hopes the trend will continue.

“We’re still only about 40, 45 per cent of what we would have been in a typical year but when you see things like the confidence of the people here now travelling to Mesa, it really just bodes well for the winter sun programs and then hopefully a bit more recovery into next year,” he said.

Rempel added that the industry’s recovery has been largely consumer-led with leisure travel, while business travel has seen a slow, but steady return.

However, he said some of the largest, most exciting growth at the airport is unseen by most—overnight freight.

“All those things that everyone has been buying on Amazon or on eBay or wherever, showing up on your doorstep in the morning, has made for a very busy time at the airport in the last little while,” he said.