Air Canada is once again changing its operations at New York JFK Airport (JFK), but this time it is not a complete withdrawal. The airline has had an on-and-off relationship with the airport for over ten years, using it as part of its New York strategy and then dropping it when necessary.

This pattern is repeating in 2021, as Air Canada suspends all JFK flights from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) for the summer season. However, unlike previous instances, the airline is expanding its operations at the other two major New York airports, making up for the loss of JFK flights.

JFK: The Odd One Out (Again)

Air Canada started its modern JFK journey in 2012 when it announced a new service from Toronto to JFK. With this move, the airline aimed to serve all three major New York airports. The route began in May, giving Air Canada a presence at JFK alongside its larger operations at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). However, it seemed that JFK was not the main focus, but rather a piece in the airline’s larger New York strategy.

This first stint at JFK did not last long. In 2016, Air Canada announced that it would end its JFK service due to inconvenient departure and arrival times caused by schedule changes at the congested airport. The airline continued its operations at LaGuardia and Newark and even increased its overall service in the New York area. Looking back, this decision is similar to the current one, where JFK is the airport that can be dropped while the rest of the New York operations remain intact.

Air Canada returned to JFK in 2022, announcing that it would relaunch its Toronto-JFK service and add a Montreal-JFK route in March 2023. However, now the airline has once again suspended these flights. According to Reuters, Air Canada will cut four daily flights from JFK (three from Toronto and one from Montreal) starting June 1, with tentative plans to resume on October 25.

“As jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict, some lower profitability routes and flights are no longer economic, and we are making schedule adjustments accordingly.

Cutting JFK, But Growing in New York

Is the main reason for cutting JFK flights the increasing fuel costs, or is the decline in Canadian visitors to the US also a factor? To understand this better, let’s look at the Cirium Diio data. From June to October 2025, JFK accounted for only 12% of all Air Canada flights to New York’s three main airports. Thus, it was never a significant part of the airline’s flying to the Big Apple.

Looking ahead at June-October 2021, JFK drops to zero flights, while Newark increases by 11% to 4,210