Jazz Aviation closing Halifax flight attendant base

Jazz Aviation is closing its flight attendant base at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

In an email statement, the company said it made the decision to "better align our crew resources with the flying schedule.” The base will close on March 1.

As of this month, Jazz — whose flight schedule is determined by partner Air Canada — only has one commercial flight out of Halifax, a daily route between Halifax Stanfield and Ottawa International Airport. 

According to the Halifax International Airport Authority, most regional routes by Air Canada Express in Atlantic Canada are now being operated by PAL Airlines, which maintains a crew base in Halifax. 

Affected employees were given the option to transfer to Jazz bases in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto, or take severance, the company statement said. Thirty decided to continue with Jazz "via transfer to another base or other options within their collective agreement," while 21 chose the latter option.

Jazz Aviation’s headquarters, operations centre and heavy maintenance facility in Halifax have not been affected by the base closure, the company said. 

Aviation expert John Gradek says the decision to close the flight attendant base in Halifax appears to be motivated by the company’s present operations. 

“I think Air Canada is looking to kind of reposition Jazz as a carrier to serve a bit larger markets, and the smaller markets they’re looking to carriers like PAL to pick up,” he said.

Gradek doesn’t think, however, that travellers in the region have any need to worry about Air Canada routes being cut from the Halifax airport in the near future. 

“I believe that they will continue to maintain their services,” he said. “They’re really looking to improve their bottom line, particularly in places like Quebec and Atlantic Canada.” 

News of the flight attendant base closure comes as Porter Airlines also gears up to close its Halifax crew base in May and consolidate operations in Toronto and Ottawa. 

Leah Batstone, a spokesperson for the airport authority, said in an email that the decisions of both companies to close these local bases do “not necessarily reflect changes in routes or service levels.”

“At this time, we have not been advised by either Porter Airlines or Air Canada that recent crew base changes will result in any reduction in flights or destinations from Halifax,” she said. 

“According to published flight schedules, both Air Canada and Porter are planning to expand seat capacity for 2026.”