Porter is expanding to Pearson Airport in Toronto with larger planes and new destinations

The pandemic has meant an exceptionally rough go for Toronto's Porter Airlines, the small regional carrier that was forced to suspend its service from the Billy Bishop Airport on the Toronto Islands in March 2020 due to COVID-19, and has delayed the return of its planes to the sky countless times.

But, despite what must have been a financially and otherwise devastating stint, the company has surprisingly just announced a major expansion that includes 80 additional planes and new destination offerings.

Though the details are in the works and won't be finalized until mid-2022, Porter says that passengers will now be able to take advantage of new routs to sun destination in the Caribbean, Mexico and the southern U.S., as well as some west coast locales.

Potential future flights will travel to Nassau, Bahamas, multiple locations in Florida including Miamia and Orlando, as well as L.A., San Francisco and Las Vegas, all from Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, and Toronto.

Our partners, @PorterAirlines, made a big announcement today that is a positive for the aviation industry and our airport.

Here’s what @PortsToronto has to say on the announcement : https://t.co/5yVM9wmCVi@BBishopAirport #ytz #topoli #cadpoli #aviation #avgeek #avnews https://t.co/lIAjZbaWqS

— Billy Bishop Airport (@BBishopAirport) July 12, 2021

Another major change is the fact that some departures from the latter city, which are usually out of the island airport that has for years served as Porter's home base, will now be taking off from and landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Porter announced last week that it would finally resume regular operations on Sept. 6, an entire year and a half after it had to put them on pause. The purchase of the new fleet of environmentally-friendly, quieter, 120-146 passenger Embraer E195-E2 crafts marks a whopping $5.82 billon investment — and massive growth of the business.

Though it says in a press release that customers "can continue to count on our convenience of Toronto’s downtown Billy Bishop Airport" and that it will "carry on serving you on our regional routes from our city centre hub," there has been a fair share of drama surrounding the Toronto Island terminal.

Porter has allegedly been engaged in litigation with Nieuport Aviation, which owns the airport, and had at one point threatened to pull out of the travel hub completely.