Porter Airlines’ new service in and out of London, Ont. (YXU) marks another step in its regional airport expansion program in eastern Canada, and officials say it could attract American fliers from across the border.
Porter and YXU officials held a joint press conference at the London International Airport on 25AUG to announce Porter will begin flights from London to Cancun, Montego Bay, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale this fall.
The YXU-FLL route will start on 18NOV, 2026, with four weekly flights (Monday,Wednesday, Friday and Sunday), while YXU-MCO starts 19NOV, 2026, with three weekly flights (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday).
YXU-CUN begins 17DEC with four flights a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday), while YXU-MBJ starts 18DEC, 2026, with two weekly flights (Monday and Friday).
Booking has already begun.
“We’re launching with four seasonal routes but we believe there is a lot more potential out of London,” Porter President and CEO Michael Deluce said at the press event. Porter will announce year-round domestic flights out of YXU in the coming months.
“We intend to make this a very substantial service across the country,” he said.
London airport officials and local politicians were positively giddy at the news of the raccoon mascot's arrival.
“Today is an historic day for London International Airport. More importantly it’s an historic day for London and for Southwestern Ontario,” said YXU President and CEO Scott McFadzean. “For years, our region has been underserved when it comes to air service, with residents and businesses often travelling outside the region to access the connectivity they need."
YXU will also be a popular airport for Windsor, Sarnia, Chatham and the Kitchener-Waterloo-Guelph region residents, said London Mayor Josh Morgan. Folks from Detroit might also want to cross the border to reach sun destinations or Canadian cities.
Morgan said 2.5 million people live within an hour of YXU. He also said 36% of area residents now “leak out” to Detroit Wayne Airport, so keeping those pax in Canada is a major win.
In an interview with Open Jaw, Deluce declined to outline potential future airport expansion. He also politely avoided giving away details of Porter’s planned domestic flights, saying only that there would be extensive Canadian coverage out of YXU.
“It'll be broad and it'll be significant and people in the London area will be able to access all parts of the country,” he said.
Deluce said the Canadian domestic routes will launch in the 2027 summer season, which he said begins in April.
It will be great to have flights to other Canadian destinations next year, Morgan added, “because accessing this beautiful country from southwestern Ontario is something that we’ve had in the past, but ... has deteriorated over the past few years.”
It might be a tough time to sell flights to the States, but Deluce doesn’t sound overly worried about a lack of US-bound customers.
Porter felt “some negative impact” after Trump launched his PR war on Canada in early 2025, he said.
“That’s maintained, but Porter’s growing within that slightly smaller pie, and the pie for travel to the US is still very large, and the two destinations we launched today are extremely popular, even if in a slightly reduced state.
“These are very strong markets, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale," he added. "They’re extremely popular during the winter months, which is when we're serving it, when Canadians like to travel somewhere sunny. Obviously that complements Cancun and Montego Bay, which are also very popular sun destinations.”
Porter also hopes to lure pax to YXU with its new Embraer jets, which feature no middle seats, free wine and beer, and free Wi-Fi.
Asked about Porter’s regional airport/smaller airport programs, including YTZ, YHM, and, as of a few months ago, MET in Montreal, Deluce told Open Jaw it’s normal for large population centres to have multiple airports.
“In the case of London, there’s two million people within the catchment area that would love to use this airport if served properly. The Embraer 195-E2 Is the perfect size for markets like this, and allows us to come in and offer service to a broad range of destinations and with frequency, when otherwise that wouldn't be possible.
