Air Canada has confirmed it will not operate its summer 2027 Toronto Pearson (YYZ) to Charleston International (CHS) seasonal route, according to a spokesperson quoted by Charleston's Post and Courier.

The decision is a full market exit from South Carolina, since the Toronto service was the airline's only flight into the state. The route was first launched in 2001 as the first direct flight to Charleston from outside the United States, retired during the pandemic, and revived in 2024.

The airline's representative said the network is shaped by where customers are shown to be buying tickets and that the route is discontinued 'for these commercial reasons.'

The cancellation lands hard because South Carolina has been a beloved Canadian snowbird destination.

According to a 2025 Travel South USA study cited by TheTravel, Canadians make up the largest share of international visitors to South Carolina, with 523,000 visiting in 2023, though the study estimated a decline to 480,000 Canadian visitors by 2025.

Charleston's airport consultant Gary Edwards told the Post and Courier, per TheTravel, that the door is not closed: 'It's not a no, not ever; it's just no, not now,' adding that Air Canada remains the partner best positioned to serve the Canadian market.

The numbers show a steep decline. Simple Flying's analysis, reported by AOL and TheTravel, found Toronto-Charleston departures fell from 200 with 15,200 seats in 2024 to just 92 departures and 6,992 seats after tariffs and political rhetoric hit demand.

TheTravel reports load factors stayed weak: 67.8% of seats sold in the first year, 62.1% in 2025, and 67.5% through July 2026, with no month exceeding 70%. The 2026 season, resumed April 1 with six weekly flights, was cut short early on September 6.

Canada's statistics agency recorded 29% fewer Canadian trips to the U.S. in September 2026 than two years earlier, including a 31% drop in car crossings.

The move signals how deeply politics and demand are reshaping Canada–U.S. aviation. Rival WestJet has cut flights to Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta, and Seattle while expanding internationally to Belize City, Merida, and São Paulo.

For Canadian travelers, the practical stakes are concrete: next summer, reaching South Carolina will likely mean a multi-stop itinerary, since no airline offers a nonstop route to the state.

Air Canada's spokesperson said there is no date for restarting the Charleston route, but that the airline reviews route opportunities regularly, TheTravel reports.

On the ground in South Carolina, some resorts are fighting for Canadian business — TheTravel notes several Myrtle Beach resorts halved prices this year with a special Canadian discount.

Meanwhile, Air Canada is still adding U.S. capacity where demand holds: it launches a new Montreal–Fort Myers snowbird route on October 26, twice weekly.

Charleston-area consultant Gary Edwards says the city is not shopping for another carrier and wants to preserve the working relationship built with the Canadian airline.