A major winter storm and the biggest snowfall in some time is wreaking havoc with air travel in Eastern Canada and the Northeast United States today.
Toronto Pearson stats show that, as of 5 p.m. Eastern Time, 75.98% of the 333 scheduled departures had been cancelled, while 72.83% of 346 arrivals were cancelled. Toronto was hit with nearly two feet of snow Sunday night and into Monday afternoon, and heavy winds were making things that much tougher Monday afternoon.
FlightAware.com was showing that 48% of flights were cancelled at Ottawa’s international airport as of 5 p.m., while Montreal-Trudeau was at 31% cancellations.
Flight Aware said 56% of the total schedule had been cancelled at Buffalo-Niagara, while 59% were cancelled at Frederick Douglass/Rochester International in upstate New York.
Their stats show that Air Canada has had to cancel 165 flights, or 46% of their total, while Air Canada Jazz has cancelled 193 flights, or 44%. Air Canada Rouge had cancelled 42% of flights, 26 flights in all.
WestJet had cancelled 65 flights as of 5 p.m. Eastern Time, 31% of their total, while WestJet Encore had cancelled 29 flights, or 19%.
Flight Aware said 18 Swoop flights, 62% of their total, had been cancelled. For Porter Airlines it was 14 flights (31%).
“Today’s operations have been affected by the winter storm impacting southern Ontario,” Toronto Pearson spokeswoman Rachel Bertone said in an email. “So far today there have been 252 cancellations between both arrivals and departures. For more information on delays and departures, we recommend reaching out the airline in question for details.
“Safety is our top priority. We continue to monitor the weather closely and crews are hard at work clearing snow to ensure the safe movement of our valued passengers. We ask everyone travelling today or picking up friends and family to check our website or consult with their airline prior to leaving for the airport for the most up-to-date information on their flight status.”
“Today’s snowstorm in Southern Ontario has had an impact on our operations out of Pearson Airport,” Air Canada officials told me. “We would invite you to visit the airport’s website for a better idea of the full impact of the weather event on all airlines.
“Our focus is always on the safety of our people and operations while getting our customers safely on their way. We have put in place a flexible rebooking policy for our customers impacted by weather. For those who are travelling, they should check on the status of their flight before heading to the airport and ensure they give themselves extra time to get there given the road conditions.
