Porter Airlines pulling out of Sudbury, Ont.

Porter Airlines will end its short-lived service from Sudbury to Ottawa in September and will pull out of northern Ontario's largest city after 15 years.

Christopher Pollesel, the Sudbury Airport's director of commercial development and passenger experience, confirmed to CBC News that the airline will no longer fly there.

In May, Porter ended its Sudbury-to-Toronto route.

Porter spokesperson Robyn van Teunenbroek told CBC News in an email that the airline cancelled the route because the market had shifted since the pandemic, and more people were driving the distance between both cities, or foregoing business travel for virtual meetings instead.

"We repositioned service to Ottawa from Toronto City in May, providing non-stop access to the nation's capital and access to a greater range of connecting flights across our North American network," the email said.

"We were hopeful it would lead to stronger performance, however, the results have not improved."

Van Teunebroek also confirmed that the final Porter flight out of Sudbury will be Sept. 7.

The airline continues to service the northern Ontario cities of Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins with flights to Toronto.

Quebec-based Propair has indicated to CBC News that it is currently in discussions to add services from Sudbury to the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The airline currently offers flights from Sudbury to Ottawa.