Flights to popular international destination return to Sacramento International Airport

After a 26-month grounding, non-stop flights will return in June between Sacramento International Airport and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Air Canada will resume its service to Vancouver International Airport starting June 1, Sacramento airport officials announced Tuesday.

Flights will be offered daily on a 76-seat CRJ-900 aircraft with business and economy service. Passengers flying from Vancouver to Sacramento will pre-clear U.S. customs before boarding their planes in Canada.

Air travel declined significantly in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Travel began to rebound last year and is expected to continue growing in 2022, but will likely remain below pre-pandemic levels.

“With our recovery accelerating and North American flying reaching 90% of pre-pandemic levels this summer, we are offering more options across the continent,” Mark Galardo, Air Canada’s senior vice president of network planning and revenue management said in a statement.

Vancouver International is one of Air Canada’s hubs, with connections to Asia, Europe and Australia.

The return of flights between Vancouver and Sacramento is part of a broader push by Air Canada into new American markets and a resumption of flights put on hold during the pandemic.

This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 9:53 AM.