Flight delays, cancellations cripple Alberta’s two big airports

Both the Calgary International Airport and Edmonton International Airport were dealing with multiple flight cancellations and delays Sunday and Monday.

According to the departure schedule, it appeared that at least half the flights scheduled to depart from Calgary Monday were delayed or cancelled. Arrivals were also impacted.

At the Edmonton airport, it seemed that there were slightly fewer delays and cancellations for the day’s planned flights. According to the airport’s website, it appeared about half the arrivals were either delayed or cancelled.

At both airports, the delays and cancellations affected outgoing flights to domestic destinations — like Winnipeg, Montreal and Victoria — and international locations — like Phoenix, Seattle and Cancun. The issues appeared to be happening on most carriers, including WestJet, Air Canada, Sunwing, Swoop and Flair.

Ashley Stewart was trying to get home to Grande Prairie from Cancun. Her flight had a stopover in Calgary.

“We got delayed four times last night and then at about 2:30 in the morning, they decided to cancel our flights. And we’re supposed to be boarding at 11 p.m.

“They said to just go get a hotel, find your bags and everything the next day. We waited in an hour-long lineup, were told that we were in the wrong lineup, to just come downstairs. So finally I just thought to look and I found our bags.

“Our Grande Prairie flight was delayed four times,” she explained. “Cancun to here, Calgary, was fine. But as soon as we got to Calgary, it was difficult to get to our Grande Prairie flight.”

Stewart was able to get a ticket on a flight to Grande Prairie at 3 p.m. Monday, but was told there were only two seats left.

“I don’t know what other people going to Grande Prairie are doing. I don’t know if they can get in today.”

She said travelling at this time of year comes with some risk but the amount of delays shocked her.

“You do somewhat expect some delays but I didn’t expect it to be like this,” Stewart said. “We weren’t just the only flight. There were tons of flights that were cancelled so a lot of people were pretty upset. We knew it would be a mess.”

Jared and Tia Reiner were flying from Winnipeg to Calgary on route to Cancun. Their bags made it to Mexico, but they did not.

“Delayed and then delayed again and then cancelled,” Jared said of the Calgary-to-Cancun flight.

“The (bags) are being re-routed to somewhere where we won’t be for three and a half days,” Tia added.

“The flight to Edmonton that we were supposed to catch has been cancelled. Everything else is full,” Jared said, adding they don’t expect to get to Cancun until Wednesday.

WestJet provided a statement to Global News, attributing the “multiple cancellations and delays over the past 24 hours” to the severe winter weather impacting operations across Western Canada.

The airline said there were 104 cancellations on Sunday and 57 cancellations as of 11 a.m. Monday.

“We understand the frustration and disappointment this has caused and our teams are working to re-accommodate guests as quickly as possible,” WestJet spokesperson Madison Kruger said.

“The ongoing extreme cold weather warnings impacting Alberta and prolonged forecasted snow and weather events for regions across B.C. including, Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, as well as the Okanagan region, continue to prove challenging as we work to stabilize our operations and ensure the safety of our crews.

“We recognize this has been an incredibly challenging situation for our guests as we navigate limited re-accommodation availability during peak travel time. Safety is our number one priority and we are working alongside our partners to balance the challenges these weather events are presenting. We sincerely appreciate our guests continued patience and are immensely grateful to our frontline staff and service partners who continue to work tirelessly to ensure our guests arrive safely to their destination, as quickly as possible,” Kruger said.

She added that WestJet is asking travelers to not contact the airline until 72 hours in advance of their flight as staff work to prioritize customers with “imminent travel plans.”

“Re-accommodation options for impacted guests are being provided and communicated through email as soon as they are available,” she said.

A spokesperson for the Calgary airport said it is seeing delays due to weather events “like snow and low visibility affecting several airports, as well as extreme cold in Calgary.”

YYC spokesperson Stephanie Harris said delays can also be caused by passenger volume, staffing, maintenance or connections from other airports.

The airport will see nearly 50,000 guests each day during the holiday season. Harris said passengers should contact the airlines directly for the most accurate information about flight delays. Guests are advised to arrive early.

“We are monitoring the situation and continue to work with all our partners — from airlines, airports, security screeners to border agents and government officials — so we can jointly deliver a smooth, efficient experience for travellers,” Harris said.

Much of western and southern Alberta was under an extreme cold warning Monday, including the City of Calgary.

Environment Canada issued the alert, saying extremely cold wind chill values of minus 40 are expected to continue. The weather agency said the extremely cold wind chills will continue through the week, especially in the overnight and early morning hours. A warming trend is expected by the weekend.

Patricia Coggan and her dog Jackson have been visiting family in Ontario. They were booked on a flight to return home to Calgary on Dec. 17 with Air Canada, one day ahead of a pet travel ban.

“There is a pet travel ban in the luggage compartment between the 18th and Jan. 4,” she explained. “I was scheduled to travel on the 17th ahead of the travel ban, but that (flight) was cancelled, and they rescheduled me for today and unfortunately they will not let my dog board the plane.

“Once they assigned my new flight, I phoned in to make sure I could register my dog and they said: ‘No, absolutely not. There’s a travel ban. There’s no exceptions that we’ll be making at this point in time.'”

That means Coggan will be stuck in Ontario and unable to work for three weeks, until she can fly home with Jackson on Jan. 5.

“I’m not leaving my dog,” she said, adding that she’s worried about keeping her job.

“It’s been a very eye-opening situation… At this point in time, I’ve received no communication from Air Canada and no compensation,” Coggan said.

by Global News