Montreal today became the first North American city to be connected to the Tunisian capital Tunis by direct flight when the private airline Syphax launched its service.

Syphax, which began operations just two years ago, will use an Airbus 330-200 for the flight to Tunis–Carthage (TUN), which departs Friday evenings.

“Following the recent announcements of the arrival of Turkish Airlines and Copa Airlines, this third addition for 2014 clearly illustrates Montreal–Trudeau airport’s (YUL) vitality as it seeks to strengthen its positioning as a hub connecting Europe/North Africa/the Middle East with the Americas,” said airport president and CEO James Cherry.

Montreal–Trudeau currently serves about 130 destinations by direct flight.

Syphax is based at Sfax Thyna airport in Tunisia. Its network includes Paris, Rome, Brussels, Belgrade, Istanbul, Jeddah, Benghazi and Tripoli.

Airport image courtsey: Montreal-Trudeau.