TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 8, 2026--
Porter Airlines has officially joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as a member. This significant milestone reflects the airline's rapid growth and its deepening integration with the global aviation community.
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Full membership follows Porter's successful completion of the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) for its Embraer E195-E2 fleet in February 2026. These accomplishments mark a meaningful step forward in Porter's evolution as a carrier with expanding international ambitions.
"Throughout Porter’s 20-year history, we have sought to elevate the flying experience for our passengers, while working collaboratively with partners and the broader industry. Joining IATA is recognition of the airline we have become and the expansive growth we have undergone in recent years,” said Michael Deluce, CEO, Porter Airlines. “We have seen strong interest from international airlines in working with us and IATA membership gives us the platform to build on those relationships, while also contributing to conversations that are shaping the future of aviation."
“We are pleased to welcome Porter Airlines to IATA’s airline membership and extend our congratulations on this key milestone. We look forward to their active participation and collaboration in shaping the industry’s agenda and priorities, contributing to the continued growth of aviation in Canada and worldwide,” said Willie Walsh, director general, International Air Transport Association (IATA).
IATA membership provides Porter with a formal voice contributing to global aviation standards and policies alongside the world's leading carriers and a platform to facilitate relationships with international airline partners – opening doors for more interline and codeshare partnerships.
Porter joins more than 370 airlines in the IATA community, a body that represents over 80 per cent of worldwide air traffic. The airline currently partners with 15 airlines spanning North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, giving passengers the ability to connect on a single itinerary and access reciprocal loyalty benefits across select carriers.
Since launching its first flight in 2006, Porter has grown into one of Canada's most recognized carriers, receiving multiple accolades including Best Regional Airline in North America by Skytrax and Top 3 regional airlines in the world by APEX. The airline operates a modern fleet of 82 Embraer E195-E2 and De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft across an expanding network in North America, the Caribbean and Central America.
Porter brings its signature elevated economy experience to every flight: no middle seats and complimentary premium snacks and beverages, including beer and wine served in real glassware. On the Embraer E195-E2 fleet, passengers also enjoy fresh meals and free, fast WiFi. It is a level of hospitality and care that has distinguished Porter as a passenger experience leader and earned itself a loyal following among travellers who believe the journey matters as much as the destination.
About Porter
Since 2006, Porter Airlines has been elevating the experience of economy air travel for every passenger, providing genuine hospitality with style, care and charm. Porter’s fleet of Embraer E195-E2 and De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft serves North America, including a coast-to-coast domestic Canadian network, the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. Headquartered in Toronto, Porter is an Official 4 Star Airline® in the World Airline Star Rating®. Visit www.flyporter.com or follow @porterairlines on Instagram, Facebook and X.
Porter Airlines joins International Air Transport Association
Three more cases of the New World screwworm have been confirmed, including one outside the main cluster in Texas, demonstrating the difficulty of stopping a resurgent pest that could devastate the nation's cattle industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday.
The screwworm is actually a fly larva that eats living flesh instead of dead material. The flies lay their eggs in open wounds of animals like cattle, but wildlife, pets and occasionally even humans can be infested. The government has a program to breed sterile male flies and drop swarms of them from planes to mate with wild females, which kept screwworm contained at the southern end of Panama for decades.
So far, there are five confirmed cases: three calves and a goat in Texas and a dog from neighboring Lea County, New Mexico. The dog, which the USDA initially reported as a Texas case, lives in New Mexico and was reclassified as the first in that state. The animal's travel history is being investigated.
The first two screwworm cases were discovered last week in calves a few miles apart in south Texas. A case was announced Monday in a calf in La Salle County, southwest of San Antonio, and in a goat in Gillespie County, west of Austin.
Scientists expect new cases could pop up in the coming days and weeks, but it doesn't mean screwworm is spreading rapidly, said Edward Burgess, a University of Florida entomologist who studies the fly.
“When that first case is seen, everyone is being vigilant and their eyes are on it more intensely,” Burgess said. “And when you are looking for something, you are more likely to see it.”
Screwworm gets its name from the maggots’ habit of burrowing — or screwing — into a wound, according to the USDA.
The agency and the U.S. cattle industry have been racing to prevent an outbreak since screwworm was detected in Mexico late in 2024. The USDA has been dropping sterile flies in south Texas since February, and is working to both increase sterile fly production in plants outside the U.S. and build a $750 million fly factory in Texas.
So far, screwworm's reappearance hasn’t greatly affected beef prices, which are already near record levels because there are fewer cows in the United States. Although the parasite attacks live cattle, it does not infest meat or fruit. There are also a dozen government-approved medications to treat livestock.
Canada temporarily stopped importing cattle, horses or other livestock from Texas on Friday. The parasites prefer humid areas where temperatures are at least 77 F (25 C), making them more of a summer problem up north.
Burgess said the long-term solution — breeding sterile male flies — is months away. Since wild female flies mate just once, if that encounter is with a sterile male, outbreaks can eventually be halted as the flies die out.
The goal is to have enough sterile flies to stop the pests from returning in 2027 after the winter kills off most of them, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a news conference at the U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville, Texas.
Scientists are also working on ways to sterilize only male flies to make the program even more effective.
Texas officials encouraged ranchers to keep a close eye on their herds and local wildlife. There's now a 24-hour screwworm hotline and a website and map for reported cases.
“This is a highly treatable condition if you act on it immediately,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said.
However, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller — who lost the recent Republican primary to a candidate backed by Abbott — said the federal response will take too long and risks crippling the cattle industry.
Instead, he says a poison bait could eliminate the screwworm problem in a few months, even if the USDA and other experts say the bait hasn’t been proven effective and could poison other flies, animals and even humans.
“What the hell is a good fly?” Miller said in an interview.
This story has been updated to reflect that the USDA revised the dog screwworm case to New Mexico, not Texas as the agency initially reported, and to correct the spelling of Kerrville.
Associated Press writer Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, center, holds a news conference with ranchers, researchers and officials at the Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville, Texas, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A ranchers arrivse for a news conference with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins at the Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville, Texas, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
FILE - A test container of dyed fly pupae are displayed at a Domestic New World Screwworm Sterile Fly Production Facility to combat the northward spread of NWS and protect American livestock, in Edinburg, Texas, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FILE - An adult New World screwworm fly sits in this undated photo. (Denise Bonilla/U.S. Department of Agriculture via AP)
