Canadian airline serving Tampa to end operations

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Canadian airline that began serving Tampa International Airport in the fall announced Friday it would be ending operations due to financial troubles.

Lynx Air will no longer operate as of 12:01 a.m. MT on Monday, according to a news release.

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“Over the past year, Lynx Air, has faced a number of significant headwinds including rising operating costs, high fuel prices, exchange rates, increasing airport charges and a difficult economic and regulatory environment,” the airline said in a statement.

All flights after that time have been canceled. The airline said customer service center will not be available to handle refunds, and passengers who had booked flights should contact their credit card company for a refund.

The airline said passengers who are partially through their trips can try to reschedule to a weekend flight before operations are halted, but it’s unclear what happens if those flights are full and unable to accommodate extra passengers.

Air Canada announced it would be capping fares and adding more than 6,000 seats in markets that were operated by Lynx Air to help those passengers arrange alternate travel. Fares will be capped through Feb. 26 for travel through April 2, according to a news release.

Some of the routes getting more seats from Air Canada are from Toronto and Montreal to Tampa, Fort Myers, Orlando, and Cancun.

Lynx passengers whose flights have been affected will receive an email from the airline.

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Customers with travel vouchers will no longer be able to use them, according to an FAQ section on the airline’s website.

Lynx Air began flying in April 2022 and quickly doubled its passenger volume, but it said the current challenges “have become too significant to overcome.”

Lynx announced several weekly flights from TPA to Montreal and Toronto last summer, with flights that began in November.

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