TORONTO — Almost 18 months after it suspended all flights due to COVID-19 public health and travel restrictions, Porter Airlines is back.

As scheduled the airline took to the skies today with service to several of its top destinations.

Flights to Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Thunder Bay are the first to restart.

And in the next 10 days Porter will resume flights to Halifax, Quebec City, St. John’s and Moncton.

Effective Sept. 17 Porter will add back several U.S. destinations including Boston, Chicago, New York and Washington.

And flights to other year-round destinations are set to resume as of Oct. 6.

All routes are currently available for booking. The initial flight schedule is at flyporter.com.

“Our passengers and team members have been waiting for this day to arrive,” said Michael Deluce, president and CEO, Porter Airlines. “We currently have over 900 team members who have put in countless hours to get everything ready for our return to service, with more being recalled or hired every week. Everyone at Porter is looking forward to welcoming passengers back and delivering our distinct style of service again.”

Toronto Mayor John Tory joined the celebrations today at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. “The restart of commercial service at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is an important sign of the progress we have made combatting the pandemic and getting residents vaccinated,” he said. “We are safely reopening our city and I’m so confident that our economic recovery will be a success. Toronto will come back stronger than ever thanks to all of our collective efforts across the city.”

It is great to be flying again! Porter is officially back in the skies and today we’re welcoming passengers back to airports and onboard flights to Ottawa, Montreal, Thunder Bay and Toronto.

Learn more about our schedule https://t.co/KUriXr6vB8. . #FlyPorter #PorterIsBack pic.twitter.com/0CR2cp2KJ5

— Porter Airlines (@porterairlines) September 8, 2021

Porter bookings made before Sept. 30 are eligible to change or cancel with no fees. Passengers also have the option to book a flight with the full refund option for $40 plus taxes. The refund option entitles customers to receive a refund, including base fare, taxes and fees, for their booking upon advance cancellation of their flight for any reason.

Porter was the first Canadian airline to announce a COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for its team members, in the wake of the federal government’s mandate that employees in all federally regulated industries including the airline industry must be vaccinated for COVID-19. Porter team members must present a negative COVID-19 test administered within 72 hours of the start of their shift or be fully vaccinated.

Porter has also strengthened its existing standards with a focus on high levels of sanitization in order to protect the health of its passengers and team members. More information about Porter’s Healthy Flights program is here.

Today’s return to the skies is just the first step in Porter’s plan of action for the months ahead. In July 2021 Porter announced a major expansion with up to 80 new Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, brand new service out of Toronto’s Pearson airport and new flights to more U.S. sun destinations, plus Mexico and the Caribbean.

The new planes have transcontinental range and will enter into service with Porter starting in the second half of 2022. Travelweek’s Q&A with Deluce about the expansion plans and Porter’s partnerships with travel agents can be found here.