The inaugural WestJet Edmonton to Kamloops flight on the tarmac at Fulton Field on July 6, 2025. (Image Credit: Kamloops Airport)

By Victor Kaisar

YKA to YEG Flight

WestJet Encore bringing back direct Kamloops to Edmonton flight in 2026

Jan 26, 2026 | 3:08 PM

KAMLOOPS — WestJet Encore is bringing back a direct flight between Kamloops and Edmonton following a successful trial last summer.

The direct flight to Edmonton is set to operate on Fridays and Mondays from mid-May to mid-October. A third flight will also operate on Sundays during the peak summer travel season from late June to early September.

“It shows there is a demand and WestJet has seen that and is responding,” Jim Moroz, the Managing Director at Kamloops Airport told CFJC Today. “We are always pleased to see our destinations and connection opportunities expanding for our community.”

The flights are currently scheduled to leave Edmonton at 9:15 a.m. MDT and arrive in Kamloops at 9:30 a.m. PDT. They’re scheduled to leave Kamloops at 10:05 a.m. PDT and arrive back in Edmonton at 12:25 p.m. MDT.

Question of the Week

Has the violence in Mexico changed your opinion about travelling there for a vacation?

19h ago

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: February 23, 2026

Feb 23, 2026

1000 WAYS TO HEAL

1000 WAYS TO HEAL: Understanding the Bully

Feb 23, 2026

Moroz added the flight is expected to support both leisure and business travel.

“Clearly the two cities have a connection and this will allow for a broader range of traveller heading to Alberta or onward trips using Edmonton’s connections. It’s a positive thing for Kamloops and the region,” Moroz added.

Last year, WestJet Encore flew between the Tournament Capital and the Alberta capital on Fridays and Sundays in July and August. In September, Moroz told CFJC that the Edmonton flight performed well, and that sentiment was echoed by the airline in a statement announcing the return.

“WestJet is pleased to restore service between Kamloops and Edmonton for a second consecutive summer,” Chris White-DeVries, WestJet’s Senior Manager of Airport Affairs and Hub Strategy, added, noting there is “solid demand” for flights between Northern Alberta and the B.C. Interior.

“By extending the travel season and adding more flights during peak periods in 2026, we are making it easier for guests to reunite with loved ones and explore new corners of Canada all summer long.”

WestJet briefly flew between Kamloops and Edmonton in 2021, but those flights did not perform as expected owing to a lack of available flight crews and passengers due to the lingering effects of the pandemic and that summer’s wildfire season.

The Calgary-based airline previously cancelled its flights between Edmonton and Kamloops in 2016. It’s former ultra low-cost offering – Swoop – also announced a flight between the two cities that was to begin in 2020, but it never did because of COVID-19.

Moroz previously told CFJC that the WestJet flight to Edmonton is expected to perform better than Flair Airlines’ short-lived expansion into the Kamloops-area in 2023.