While the number of Canadians taking trips to the U.S. saw a small uptick from 2025 and during the summer months in particular, the numbers still sit at historic lows after the abrupt dropoff that came after President Donald Trump began his second term in the White House with antagonistic statements about the northern neighbor.
The latest monthly numbers published by the Canadian government’s statistics agency show a 29% drop in the number of Canadians returning home from the U.S. in September 2026. When broken down further, there was a 31% decrease for those making the trip by car and a 19% decrease for flights.
As a result, both Canadian and U.S. airlines have made major adjustments to their schedules in order to run fewer flights and cut any unprofitable routes.
WestJet to permanently cut flight to Kauai in 2027
Canadian national airline Air Canada phased out flights to Minneapolis and Detroit from Montreal and Indianapolis from Toronto this October and recently confirmed that it will not bring back its seasonal flight to Charleston International Airport (CHS) from Toronto in 2027.
Calgary-based WestJet, Air Canada’s main competitor and the second-biggest airline in the country, is now the latest carrier to exit a market by confirming to aviation outlet Simple Flying that it will not be bringing back its route between Vancouver International (YVR) and Lihue Airport (LIH) on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Related: Air Canada cancels all flights to U.S. state due to low demand
The route to the sunny destination known locally as “The Garden Island” of Hawaii was initially launched in December 2009 and returned every season during the sun-seeking months. This year, the flight ran for the last time on April 12, 2026.
As Vancouver was WestJet’s only service to Kauai (it briefly added a second route from Calgary in 2021 but did not bringing it back in more recent years), the cancelation of the route means that the carrier is exiting this market entirely.
The airline will continue to serve Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu, Kahului Airport (OGG) in Maui, and Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport (KOA) on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Why WestJet is also axing these U.S. flights
Other than confirming that the route will not be coming back in 2027, WestJet has not elaborated on the reasons for this decision.
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“We saw a notable decline in transborder travel demand throughout 2025,” Julia Kaiser, WestJet’s media relations adviser, had previously said of past cuts to U.S. routes. “As a result, we made timely decisions to modify our network to stay aligned with where Canadians want to go.”
Other routes that WestJet axed in 2026 include flights to Nashville and Boston from Vancouver as well as a route to Nashville from Winnipeg while adding new international destinations such as Merida in Mexico, São Paulo in Brazil and the small Central American country of Belize.
Simple Flying is reporting that John Wayne Airport (SNA) in California’s Orange County, to which the carrier also flies seasonally from Calgary, could be the next market exit for the airline although WestJet has not confirmed this report.
Related: Air France exits entire market again