A step forward for Windsor International Airport.
Starting Monday the airport can once again accept international flights.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government put a pause on most Canadian airports from accepting international flights except for Toronto's Pearson International Airport, Montréal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Calgary's International Airport and Vancouver International Airport.
Speaking on AM800's The Morning Drive, airport CEO Mark Galvin says it's a step in the right direction but adds the move won't do much for the airport right away.
"Obviously the airline sector has to plan these things long in advance although Sunwing is flying and they're flying every week to Varadero, Cuba which is a lot warmer than it is here but they found a work around on that," he continued. "So it's good for us from a go forward, it's a step in the right direction. I think we're seeing lots of steps in the right direction and I just want to keep stepping in that direction."
Galvin says Sunwing is currently flying out of Windsor to Varadero, Cuba.
"They fly direct from Windsor to Cuba and on the way back they actually fly through Ottawa because at the time we couldn't receive that flight. We can now but I don't think they're going to change. They did extend their season which is good news. They're extending their season until April."
He feels the steps being taken, are steps towards normalcy.
"We're looking forward to the day that we don't have a lot of restrictions in place and we can move about our business as we have been and I think we've done that in the community for quite a while now."
Most recently and prior to today, there were roughly a dozen and half airports in the country that were permitted to receive flights from international destinations.