- Air Canada will suspend its Salt Lake City-Toronto flights on June 30.
- The decision is due to rising jet fuel costs amid ongoing Iran conflict.
- Air Canada hopes to resume the service in 2027.
SALT LAKE CITY — Canada's largest airline says it plans to pull flights out of a select number of airports this year, including Salt Lake City, as it deals with the rising cost of jet fuel.
Air Canada announced on Friday that it will suspend direct flights between Utah's capital city and Toronto, beginning on June 30. It's one of three intercontinental flights that will be suspended in June, joining flights from Toronto and Montreal to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
"Jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict, affecting some lower profitability routes and flights, which now are no longer economically feasible," the airline said in a statement. "Schedule adjustments, including some frequency reductions, are being made in response. This regrettably includes our Toronto-Salt Lake City service."
The airline adds that it hopes to resume service in 2027.
Air Canada's Toronto-Salt Lake City service is currently the only route the airline offers with ties to Utah, but jet fuel prices are not the first disruption. Air Canada suspended service on the route in 2017, before the new Salt Lake City International Airport opened, providing the airport with more gates for airlines to operate from. It brought the service back in 2022, as the industry experienced a spike in travel following the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, soaring jet fuel prices have created panic across the industry in recent months. Prices have nearly doubled since the beginning of the war in Iran in late February, which has resulted in many airlines reducing routes, raising fares or adding new surcharges to cover costs, NPR reported last week. That's because many ships carrying crude oil have been stuck at the Strait of Hormuz.
That blockage has also affected the price at the pump across Utah. The state experienced a "small break" when a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran earlier this month helped crude oil trading prices dip below $100, according to AAA. The straight was declared open on Friday, but the Associated Press reports that issues reemerged this week that could continue the logistics mess.
That figures to be a key piece in future gas prices, for all types of vehicles.
"Maritime traffic transiting the Strait of Hormuz remains subdued as regional tensions persist and negotiations continue," said Julian Paredes, a spokesman for AAA Mountain West Group, last week.
