Air Canada cancels five U.S. routes for 2027 amid lower cross-border travel
The airline is cutting flights to Boston, Seattle, Nashville, Raleigh-Durham and Charleston, citing commercial reasons.
Air Canada is cancelling service on five routes to the United States scheduled for summer 2027, including its only direct flight to South Carolina.
The cuts affect flights from Montreal to Seattle, Vancouver to Nashville, Vancouver to Raleigh-Durham, Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport to Boston, and Toronto Pearson to Charleston.
"Air Canada regularly reviews its schedule to ensure capacity is aligned with customer demand and travel patterns," said Sean Davidson, a spokesperson with Air Canada.
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He told Daily Hive the airline made a "commercial decision" to adjust some routes.
The Charleston cut removes Air Canada’s only route to the South Carolina city, which it began serving in March 2024.
According to Simple Flying, citing Cirium schedule data, all five routes had previously been available for 2027 but were removed in the latest schedule update.
Montreal, Seattle, Vancouver, Nashville and Vancouver, Raleigh-Durham had been scheduled to resume in May 2027, while Toronto Pearson, Charleston was expected to return in April.
Two of the routes had already seen substantial reductions in service.
Vancouver, Raleigh-Durham departures fell 27 per cent in 2026 compared with 2025, while available seats declined 34 per cent, according to Simple Flying.
The publication also reported that departures from Toronto Pearson to Charleston fell from 200 in 2024 to 92 in 2026.
According to a report from the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, trips by Canadians to Myrtle Beach, S.C., decreased by more than 65 per cent between 2024/25 and 2025/26, the steepest decline of any U.S. city.
South Carolina is a popular destination for Canadian snowbirds but has been hit particularly hard by changing attitudes surrounding U.S. travel.
Canadian travel to the U.S. has plunged compared to 2024 levels after repeated threats of annexation by U.S. President Donald Trump as well as multiple rounds of tariffs imposed amid his trade war.
Canadian trips to the U.S. in September 2026 were down 29 per cent compared with September 2024, according to figures cited in October reporting.
Air travel specifically fell 19 per cent.
Despite the cancellations, Air Canada said it would be offering new service between Toronto and Louisville, Montreal and Indianapolis, and Edmonton and Newark in summer 2027.
In the spring, WestJet announced it was cancelling 10 summer routes to the U.S., citing a notable decline in demand.
Air Transat also announced in April it would cut flights from its schedules, citing higher fuel prices as a result of the Iran war.
Simple Flying's analysis suggested the leisure-focused nature of some markets and increased fuel prices contributed to Air Canada's latest cuts.
"Two of the routes were transcontinental offerings from YVR, with higher operating expenses," the publication stated.
The other four U.S. destinations will remain accessible through Air Canada’s other Canadian gateways.
Boston will continue to be served from Halifax, Montreal and Toronto Pearson; Nashville and Raleigh-Durham from Montreal and Toronto Pearson; and Seattle from Vancouver and Toronto Pearson.
The airline is also discontinuing its Toronto Billy Bishop-Boston service from December 1, 2026.
With files from Global News, Daily Hive and Pax News