Ottawa, Jul 1 (IANS): Air Canada announced that it was indefinitely suspending service of 30 domestic routes and closing eight stations at regional airports across the country.

"These structural changes to Air Canada's domestic regional network are being made as a result of continuing weak demand for both business and leisure travel due to COVID-19 and provincial and federal government-imposed travel restrictions and border closures, which are diminishing prospects for a near-to-mid-term recovery," the flag carrier said on Tuesday.

Most of the route suspensions will occur in the provinces of The Maritimes, Ontario and Quebec, with a handful of closures affecting western routes between Saskatchewan and Ottawa, reports Xinhua news agency.

It said the airline industry will need a minimum of three years to fully recover, therefore other changes to its services and schedule, and further suspensions will be considered in the coming weeks to reduce its cost.

Air Canada reported a net loss of C$1.05 billion ($774 million) in the first quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has laid off 20,000 people.