Yarmouth Airport to Get Scheduled Air Service in February

Looks like Yarmouth will be getting some regular scheduled air service starting in February. This is some great news to this area of the province.

Launch event planned at airport Tuesday to introduce public to new air service
By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

The public is being invited to the Yarmouth airport on Tuesday, Jan. 20 to learn more about the new scheduled air service that will be starting up next month.

Starting in February the Quebec-based company Starlink Aviation is going to be offering air service that will be based in Yarmouth and flying to and from Portland and Halifax. The intention is to offer two daily flights Monday through Friday.

A flight schedule has been worked out. An 18-seater Jetstream 31 turboprop aircraft will depart daily from Yarmouth at 7:30 a.m. and arrive in Halifax at 8:14 a.m. It will depart Halifax at 8:40 a.m. and arrived back in Yarmouth at 9:30 a.m.

The first trip to Portland leaves from Yarmouth at 9:50 a.m., arriving an hour and eight minutes later at its Maine destination. The return flight arrives back in Yarmouth at 12:43 p.m.

The second trip of the day to Halifax will leave at 1:10 p.m. and arrive at 1:54 p.m. The aircraft leaves Halifax on its return trip to Yarmouth at 4:45 p.m., arriving at 5:35 p.m. It flies back to Portland at 6:05 p.m.

The return flight from Portland arrives in Yarmouth a couple of minutes before 9 p.m.

One-way tickets prices – which are in Canadian dollars and exclusive of taxes – are $159 between Yarmouth and Halifax. The fare is $249 for trips between Portland and Halifax. The cost to fly between Yarmouth and Portland is $199.

Tuesday’s roll out of the service at the airport gets underway with a 9:30 a.m. press conference involving dignitaries and company officials. Glen Lynch, CEO of Starlink Aviation, will be in attendance.

In the afternoon – following a lunch with the hotel and hospitality community – a session is planned for local business people.

Part of Tuesday’s launch includes a session open to the public from 10 a.m. to noon, when people are invited to come to the airport and gather information about the new service.

“They’ll get to talk with people, pick up information and data, flight schedules, chat with the airline, learn how to book flights,” says Jeff Munroe, development director for the Yarmouth airport.

A similar launch event was held in Portland on Monday, Jan. 12 and another is planned in Halifax on Jan. 21.

“We’re already getting piles and piles of people calling us and calling the airline about how to book,” Monroe says. “It’s been amazing. We’ve got the fishermen contacting us about wanting to go to the Boston seafood show. We’ve got people wanted to do fam (tourism familiarization) tours. We’ve got people wanting to book out of Portland to go to Florida. It’s just been crazy, but it’s been crazy good.”

The only thing missing from Tuesday’s event will be the aircraft itself. The plane that will be based in Yarmouth is still being readied for its relocation here.

As for a start-up date of the air service, that has yet to be finalized. The company behind the service is still in the process of getting final Transport Canada approvals, which, could be in place by the end of the week.

There are also invited exhibitors that will be participating at Tuesday’s event, these include: Portland Jetport, Halifax Stanfield Airport, Portland Chamber of Commerce, Portland Convention and Visitors Bureau, Portland Downtown District, Mermaid Transportation, Concord Trailways, Maine Tourism Association, White Mountain Attractions, Bay Ferries, Destination Halifax, Nova Scotia Tourism and Nova Scotia Business Inc.