Dignitaries and local politicians celebrated 20 years of WestJet service at Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) on Monday.
WestJet began service at Abbotsford International Airport on June 18, 1997. Since then, both YXX and WestJet have seen tremendous growth, with the number of passengers at the airport rising from 3,000 in 1997 to more than 530,000 in 2016.
WestJet made aviation history on June 18, 1997, by being the first scheduled jet carrier to provide service into and out of YXX and was the first scheduled jet carrier to start a new destination in Canada in nearly 20 years.
WestJet now operates nine daily domestic flights to and from the city – to Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg – along with seasonal service to Mexico.