Summary

  • Connect Airlines has lost its certificate authority from the US Department of Transportation due to dormancy, but the carrier remains optimistic about regaining it in the future.
  • The airline had plans to operate regional flights with turboprops retrofitted with hydrogen propulsion systems, focusing on underserved cities flying to/from Toronto Island Airport.
  • Toronto Island Airport is set to have a US Preclearance facility, which will allow passengers to clear US border security before their flight, making travel more convenient and enabling carriers to offer direct services to smaller US airports.


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The Connect Airlines dream continues to be a nightmare, with the US Department of Transportation revoking the carrier’s certificate authority from the parent company, Waltzing Matilda Aviation. The Massachusetts company, which owns the airline, has seen the decision from DOT due to ‘reasons of dormancy.’

DOT issued the certificate on July 5th, last year, to enable the airline to engage in interstate air transportation; however, since then, flights have not come to fruition.

Connect Air

Photo: Connect Airlines

Read more: US Startup Connect Airlines Stalls As Proving Flights Abandoned.


Big aspirations

Connect Airlines hasn’t given up yet, with ambitious plans to launch operations in regional centers with a fleet of turboprops that would eventually be retrofitted with hydrogen propulsion systems.

The airline has reacted to DOT’s order with a positive mindset, noting that it does not prevent the carrier from regaining the certificate again in the future. Connect has also been focussing on securing its Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification, in which it believes it has clearly outlined and demonstrated the ability to operate the airline safely.

Connect Airlines deHavilland Dash 8-400

Photo: Connect Airlines

Initially, the airline mooted to launch direct services between Philadelphia and Chicago, to Toronto Island Airport (Billy Bishop YTZ), with De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 aircraft, which the FAA approved and issued operating authorities requiring the carrier to start by July 2023, and then extended to September 2023. However, these flights are yet to take place.

Connect had requested multiple extensions for a dormancy waiver, including back in August, which was denied this week. In a statement from DOT, noting Connect Airlines / Waltzing Matilda Aviation:

“…did not provide the information necessary to support a positive financial fitness finding.”

Cannot allow the application to remain pending

DOT has outlined that it does not allow applications to remain pending, claiming that the airline was nonresponsive to requests for more information. However, Connect has continued to argue that DOT’s findings are ‘erroneous’ and claims that with its ambitions to switch to hydrogen-powered aircraft in the future, flying between underserved cities to/from the Toronto Island Airport is in the best public interest.

Connect Airlines

Photo: Connect Airlines

Preclearance at Billy Bishop

Should the carrier ever take flight, travelers departing from Toronto Island will hopefully one day have the luxury of using US Preclearance before boarding their flight south across the border. Earlier this year, Ports Toronto, the owner and operator of the city airport, announced the move with the Federal Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, dedicating funding for the facility.

For those unfamiliar with US preclearance, the facility allows passengers to pass through border security at the port of departure, enabling travelers to ‘enter the US’ as a domestic passenger after their flight, ideal when traveling into major airports that could have many hundreds of other passengers in queue.

shutterstock_1489379777 - Porter Airlines Bombardier DHC-8-402 Q400, Registration C-GLQB landing at the Toronto Billy Bishop City (City Centre / Toronto Island airport in front of the Rogers Center. Toronto, Canada July 2 2011

Photo: NYC Russ | Shutterstock

While it’s great for passengers, it also allows carriers to launch direct services to smaller US airports that don’t maintain US border officials. Once Toronto Island’s facility is open, this will mark the ninth preclearance on Canadian soil, joining Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal Trudeau, Ottawa, Toronto Pearson, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.

Toronto Island’s other major airline, Porter Airlines, once pushed for the facility in 2010. However, this failed due to low trans-border passenger numbers; in 2017, another attempt was made but ultimately never took off. However, a new travel experience will be offered to passengers heading to the United States in the next few years.

Sources: ch-Aviation

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