Province Issues EOI - Hopes Raised For Return of Air Service to YXH
Councillor Yusuf Mohammed City Hall June 22 2026 - Kelly Allard Owl News
The City announced that the province has issued an Expression of Interest for restoring air services to communities affected by the departure of WestJet on Wednesday June 24. There are 29 Interested Suppliers so far.
Councillor Yusuf Mohammed told the group that this could mean the province guaranteeing so many seats sold to ensure that the airline will not have to worry about losing money.
Westjet has been losing money to provide air service here. There have been challenges from two flights a day to one. The one flight was a much larger airplane but the flight times were often inconvenient to make connecting flights so leakage to other ariports became a real problem.
The City of Medicine Hat has known about the leakage problem for years, people would much rather drive 3 hours to Calgary instead of flying out of Medicine Hat
The EOI closes on July 6 2026
Description
Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors (“TEC” or the “Province”) is exploring opportunities to enhance regional air connectivity for the Province of Alberta through potential future regional air service initiatives.
The objective of this RFEI is to collect information regarding regional air connectivity services and potential service models that may support improved air access between Alberta communities and major Alberta hub airports at Edmonton and Calgary.
The Province is seeking information from regional air carriers and other aviation operators regarding operational feasibility, potential route opportunities, service models, funding considerations, and other factors relevant to supporting regional air connectivity serving the Province of Alberta.
This RFEI is intended for information gathering and market sounding purposes only and does not constitute a competitive procurement process or commitment by the Province to proceed with any future procurement opportunity, funding agreement, or contract award. Information gathered through this Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI) process may assist the Province in determining the scope, structure, requirements, and potential approach associated with future regional air connectivity initiatives or procurement opportunities.
Councillor Ted Clugston said that at one time we had 10 flights a day out of our airport when we had the two airlines, Air Canada and Westjet. Air Canada pulled out during COVID.
There is no timeline as to when (or if) and RFP (Request For Proposal) will be issued.
