TORONTO — Porter Airlines has pushed back its restart date to Oct. 7.

Previously the carrier had been hoping to return to service by Aug. 31.

Porter is waiving change and cancellation fees on all fares booked through Oct. 7, including Porter Escapes vacation packages.

“We never intended to suspend operations for such an extended period of time,” said Michael Deluce, President and CEO, Porter Airlines. “Unfortunately, the layers of travel restrictions are serving to keep most people at home and show no signs of easing. We will continue making decisions based on how the situation evolves.”

Porter’s network includes several U.S. destinations and so far the Canada-U.S. border is staying closed to non-essential travel until at least Aug. 21, after many extensions. Porter also cites the Atlantic Canada travel bubble that restricts movement beyond the region, plus non-essential travel advisories issued by governments, and mandatory quarantine rules, as the major roadblocks to restarting service.