On Jan. 12, Bearskin Airlines owner Perimeter Airlines announced that Bearskin would discontinue its services to Fort Frances, Dryden and Kenora as of May 11.
Bearskin is the primary provider of flight services to the Town of Fort Frances Airport.
The reason for the route closure comes as a result of passenger decline since 2020, according to a release from Perimeter.
Scott Woodward, director of business development for Perimeter Aviation spoke with The Chronicle Journal saying traffic hasn’t recovered since the COVID pandemic.
“Travel levels in Dryden, Kenora, and Fort Frances have not rebounded to pre-COVID levels, posing significant challenges to the sustainability of our operations in these communities,” Woodward said. “Over the last year, the three destinations saw an average of two passengers per flight, reflecting the drastic reduction in demand for air travel in the region overall.”
In a release from the Town of Fort Frances Mayor Andrew Hallikas expressed his disappointment.
“I’m very concerned that we have lost the only regularly scheduled public carrier flying into Fort Frances. This will have a negative effect on the economic development and health care of Fort Frances and the Rainy River District,” Hallikas said.
The release says interim CAO Travis Rob has been working with Dryden and Kenora to find a solution to this gap in service, Rob told The Chronicle-Journal he wonders how the rate of MedEvac flights will change going forward without the airline.
“We already see a tremendous number of MedEvac flights in and out of Fort Francis throughout the year,” he said. “We don’t know now if we’ll need to rely on more passenger transfer through the MedEvac system, which of course puts a (heavier) burden on the whole healthcare system, or if the bus can fill that need. This is a big question for us.”
“Part of the process will be discussions with Perimeter Aviation to understand why this decision was made. The municipalities have also been in contact with senior government elected representatives,” the release says.
Hallikas says The Town will be doing all it can to have air service into Fort Frances.
“We will be doing all we can to ensure that we have a public air carrier flying into Fort Frances regularly,” he said.
Dryden Mayor Jack Harrison was in agreement in a release from that municipality:
“The loss of scheduled air passenger service is indeed disheartening for our community. We understand the challenges faced by the airline industry, but we are committed to finding an alternative [air passenger service] to ensure the City of Dryden remains accessible and connected.”
The airline cited demand for the decision however Dryden CAO Roger Nesbitt told The Chronicle-Journal that he believes the demand is there.
“That boils down to demand and the demand is there,” Nesbitt said. “The reasons cited by the carrier are just not financially viable. The onus is on the carrier to ensure that they’re providing a quality, reliable and cost-effective service to ensure that that demand is leveraged.”
According to the Bearskin Airline online booking system, a return flight between Jan. 17 to Jan. 19 for one adult from Thunder Bay to Dryden is $893. From Thunder Bay to Fort Frances $901 and from Thunder Bay to Kenora, $990.
The airline will continue to operate regular scheduled services to Red Lake, Sioux Lookout, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, and Thunder Bay.
With files from Thunder Bay Source’s Mike Stimpson, LJI Reporter and The Chronicle-Journal’s Sandi Krasowski, LJI Reporter.
