(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

A new Central Mountain Air flight between Kamloops and Vancouver will come to an end as early as April but the airline has plans to add new flights to four northern communities.

As of March 8, the airline began weekly Monday morning roundtrip flights from Vancouver to Kamloops with essential workers in mind. But come April 5, Central Mountain Air will return to service offered last fall, the airline's Michael Claeren told iNFOnews.

The airline will travel from Kamloops to Prince George instead of Vancouver, and return to Kamloops from Prince George that same afternoon. The route will be flown three days a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Also on April 5, Central Mountain Air will fly from Kamloops to Terrace, Fort St. John and Fort Nelson with a stop in Prince George along the way. The flights will return to Kamloops the same day. The Terrace flights will operate Monday, Wednesday and Thursday while the Fort St. John and Fort Nelson flights will run Monday and Thursday.

Claeren says there could be connecting flights to Vancouver offered by Air Canada in Prince George, but also noted volatility in the industry makes that uncertain.

He also says the airline hopes to resume flying between Kamloops and Vancouver soon.

"Timing of any expansion in capacity or service is totally dependent on COVID-19 traffic recovery and public health guidance," Claeren says.

Meanwhile, local officials are glad to hear of more flights added to the Kamloops Airport schedule.

"It's good they're coming back to service... we weren't expecting to see them until April. It's good for the community," Kamloops Airport managing director Ed Ratuski says.

You can find the Central Mountain Air flight schedule here.

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