Air Canada has reported significant disruptions to its flight operations due to severe weather conditions and an incident involving a Delta Connection aircraft at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The airline had to cancel approximately 1,290 flights over the past week as a result of these external factors.
On February 18, Air Canada informed its customers that a winter storm affecting Eastern Canada, combined with the Endeavor Air CRJ900 crash at Toronto-Pearson, led to these cancellations. Craig Landry, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Air Canada, expressed concern for those involved in the February 17 incident: “Our thoughts remain with that flight’s customers and crew.”
Landry acknowledged that the incident added to existing challenges caused by adverse weather conditions in Eastern Canada. He emphasized the importance of safety: “We recognize that travel disruptions are inconvenient for customers, but safety must always be our top priority, and sometimes ensuring safe travel requires slowing down and adapting to conditions.”
Efforts are underway to restore services. Landry noted that Air Canada is adding extra flights and capacity where possible. However, he cautioned that recovery might take several more days due to ongoing restrictions on take-offs and landings at Toronto-Pearson.
NAV Canada reported operational disruptions at both Toronto-Pearson and Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL), though normal operations have since resumed. According to Air Canada, these two airports are major hubs for the airline, handling nearly half of its flights daily.
“Because many of its aircraft and customers connect through Toronto at some point in the day,” explained Landry, “a disruption at Pearson can impact flights elsewhere in the system.”
Other airlines have also experienced disruptions. WestJet announced limited capacity resumption at Toronto-Pearson on February 18 but anticipated further delays and cancellations.
Flight data showed a gradual improvement in departures from Toronto-Pearson following initial disruptions earlier in February. Similarly, Montreal-Trudeau faced comparable challenges during this period.
