Air Canada is pausing its Rouge operations as a result of new travel restrictions put in place by the federal government in an effort to get ahead of new variants of the novel coronavirus.“As a result of our suspension of all flights to the Caribbean and Mexico at the request of the Canadian government, we are again pausing our Rouge operations effective Feb 8 as these flights are primarily operated by Rouge,” the Canadian airliner said in an emailed statement to Global News.Around 80 employees are expected to be laid off after the final flight.Air Canada Rouge is a low-cost airline and subsidiary of Air Canada that had expanded its flights to offer more vacation destinations.