Seventeen days from now, the last scheduled commercial flights leave both Lethbridge and Medicine Hat on the same day.
WestJet Encore's final departures from YQL in Lethbridge and CYMH in Medicine Hat are both June 24. When those planes lift off, southern Alberta will have no scheduled commercial passenger airline service. No daily flights. No connections. No options without driving to Calgary first two hours from Lethbridge, closer to three from Medicine Hat.
We covered this story in February when WestJet's exit was announced. Four months later, the situation is the same: one carrier leaving two cities simultaneously, and nothing confirmed to replace it in either one.
https://www.culturealberta.com/articles/westjet-is-abandoning-lethbridge-and-medicine-hat-flights-and-theres-nothing-to-replace-it
What happened and why
WestJet notified both cities on February 20 that it was ending its year-round non-stop service between each city and Calgary. The airline cited insufficient demand.
The Lethbridge route had already been cut once. In October 2024, WestJet reduced service from three daily flights to one. Medicine Hat saw similar reductions in the years leading up to the exit. Both routes were being operated by 34-seat WestJet Encore Saab 340 turbo-props not jets flying short hops once a day. Those single daily flights end June 24.
WestJet was the only commercial carrier at both airports. Its departure does not reduce service. It ends it entirely.
Both cities were caught off guard. Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen called it "a complete bombshell" city council happened to have airport incentives on the agenda that same afternoon. Medicine Hat Councillor Chris Hellman said the news came as a surprise, noting that as recently as the week before the announcement, the city had been talking with the province about maintaining air service.
The departure fits a broader pattern. WestJet suspended 16 Canada-U.S. routes in February 2026 alone, citing a 23.6 percent decline in transborder travel demand in late 2025. The airline is concentrating its fleet on routes with stronger load factors. Lethbridge and Medicine Hat did not make that cut.
Why these routes are hard to sustain
The math is not complicated. Lethbridge to Calgary is a two-hour drive on a flat, straight highway. Medicine Hat to Calgary is about two and a half hours. Both routes were operating 34-seat turboprops once a day. Filling those seats 365 days a year on routes that compete directly with drives most people make for free is a challenge no airline has consistently solved in either market.
For the people who actually need it seniors who cannot safely make a winter highway drive, business travellers with tight connections, families heading overseas, anyone dealing with a medical situation the flights matter enormously. For the broader population, the car wins almost every time. That gap between who needs the service and who uses it frequently enough to sustain it commercially is exactly what killed both routes.
What both cities have been doing since February
Lethbridge has been the more publicly active of the two. Mayor Hyggen launched a regional YQL marketing plan, began engaging other potential carriers about new passenger routes, and started exploring airport incentive tools financial arrangements designed to reduce commercial risk for an airline considering a new route.
Medicine Hat Airport Manager Logan Boyd said the city began assessing the impact immediately and working to replace WestJet's service before the June 24 deadline. The city talked directly with the province about options for maintaining air service.
Both cities have pointed to a regional opportunity. A carrier willing to serve both Lethbridge and Medicine Hat at once has a larger combined southern Alberta market to pitch to passengers. "Adding Lethbridge to that basket of opportunity for an air carrier, along with Medicine Hat, is an advantage," Hyggen said.
No airline has publicly committed to either city yet. Previous attempts to attract additional service have not materialized. Flair Airlines announced a Lethbridge-Tucson route in 2022. It was delayed and never launched.
What the airports actually do after June 24
Neither airport is shutting down. Flight training, medevac services, charter operations, and general aviation all continue at both YQL and CYMH. WestJet accounts for roughly two percent of total aircraft movements at Lethbridge Airport. Medicine Hat's airport manager described a similar situation WestJet's departure affects terminal operations and passenger traffic but medevac and flight training continue largely unchanged.
What ends at both airports is specifically scheduled commercial passenger service. The ability to book a ticket, show up at a terminal, and board a plane.
The City of Lethbridge spends approximately $1.7 million per year operating YQL about 0.85 percent of the total tax-supported budget. Lethbridge has confirmed property taxes will not increase as a result of WestJet's departure. Neither city is walking away from its airport. Both are spending the next seventeen days trying to make sure June 24 is not a permanent end point.
If you have a WestJet booking after June 24
Contact WestJet directly at westjet.com or 1-888-937-8538 for refund options.
For Lethbridge airport updates: lethbridge.ca
For Medicine Hat airport updates: medicinehat.ca
Sources:
City of Lethbridge, The FAQ on YQL (lethbridge.ca/news/posts/the-faq-on-yql)
Lethbridge Herald, City looking at how to keep airport viable, June 4, 2026 (lethbridgeherald.com)
Lethbridge News Now, A complete bombshell: Lethbridge mayor working to attract airlines, February 25, 2026 (lethbridgenewsnow.com)
Medicine Hat News, WestJet's last local flight in June, February 25, 2026 (medicinehatnews.com)
CHAT News Today, WestJet to cancel flight service with Calgary for Medicine Hat and Lethbridge, February 24, 2026 (chatnewstoday.ca)
WestJet spokesperson statement, February 2026
