St. John’s International Airport is looking at several ways to increase the number of passengers and flights to and from the capital, including restoring year-round direct service to the United States.

It has been years since the St. John’s-Newark flight was discontinued, but Marie Manning of the St. John’s Airport Authority says there is a consultant from the US at Altitude East taking place in St.John’s. It is one of the country’s largest air service conferences. Over 100 delegates representing 23 airports and nine airlines are at the conference.

Manning says it takes three to five years to complete the process from the time a route is proposed.

Manning says having Altitude East here is a great opportunity as it is the first time for some of the decision-makers in the airline industry being here.