‘Large for Manitoba’: New direct flight to Los Angeles from Winnipeg

Winnipeggers itching to go to Hollywood are going to have a better time making the journey by air.

WestJet is ready to supply three year-round direct flights every week from Winnipeg’s airport to Los Angeles.

“That is large for Manitoba,” says Premier Heather Stefanson. “What WestJet is saying in the present day is completely unimaginable for our economic system right here in Manitoba, for tourism, for thus many various industries right here in Manitoba.”

In accordance with Stefanson, a direct route from Winnipeg to L.A. will bolster Manitoba’s thriving movie business, which introduced in $365 million to the province’s economic system final yr, regardless of setbacks from the pandemic.

This announcement comes after the province spent virtually $5 million in an effort to extend direct flights between Winnipeg and different main worldwide areas final week. These funds got here from the province’s $50-million Pandemic Lengthy-Time period Restoration Fund.

Interim CEO for Manitoba Movie and Music, Rod Bruinooge, anticipates the route will provide dramatic development for the business.

“Once I was concerned within the business 20 years in the past, we’d get about $30 million in movie enterprise a yr. This previous yr, we’re into a 3rd of a billion, which is a dramatic development,” he says. “Managing that development is all the time difficult, however we’re seeing large bulletins occurring within the subsequent variety of months–this one is the beginning of it.

“By having a direct path to Manitoba, movie productions which can be very large-scale will think about coming right here.”

The primary direct flight to L.A. will take off on Halloween.

— With information from Sam Thompson

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