Air Canada cancellations cause domino effect at Saskatchewan airport | Globalnews.ca

Some Canadian travelers are having a hard time launching their summer plans.

Delayed and canceled flights are on the rise as Air Canada reduces just over 150 daily flights across the country.

Many people have been stuck in airports and hotels for hours with no choice but to cancel their trips, rebook flights for a later date, or stay there for days.

Ron Paul was hoping to fly to Vancouver from Saskatoon to attend an event, but was informed that his flight was no longer available.

“They told me it was completely canceled and they were trying to book me on other flights, but they were all booked and some of them got cancelled,” Paul said.

Air Canada allegedly offered to put him on a WestJet flight, but couldn’t find him one that wasn’t full. They also offered him to keep the ticket for up to a year, but he refused.

“I was a little disappointed,” Paul said.

Airports in Saskatchewan aren’t seeing as many problems as Toronto Pearson Airportto Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airportwith only seven percent of flights canceled in Saskatoon.

However, Skyxe Chairman and CEO Stephen Maybury said Saskatoon International Airport is still feeling the effects on a smaller scale.

“There is a natural, inherent ripple effect that occurs throughout the network, so impacts to large hubs will certainly affect flights here,” Maybury said.

Mayberry added that there are a few reasons for the delays, such as pre-shipment screening, labor shortages and increased travel. Demand is also higher than airlines can accommodate as travel ramps up post-pandemic.

In a statement, Air Canada Media said: “As has been widely reported, airport and airline industry operations have been affected by resourcing issues at third-party service providers. The operating environment globally has changed since before the pandemic, particularly well-documented issues such as security and customs lines, aircraft being held at gates unable to unload passengers at airports, problems with baggage systems of the airport and the limitations on the number of flights imposed by air traffic control in both Canada and the US that force airlines to make last minute cancellations.

“Air Canada has taken steps to improve customer travel and most recently adjusted its schedule, reducing it by 77 round trips (or 154 flights) per day on average for July and August. Most of the affected flights are to and from its Toronto and Montreal hubs. These will predominantly be frequency reductions, primarily affecting evening and overnight flights of smaller aircraft, on cross-border and domestic routes. International flights are not affected, except for limited schedule changes to reduce peak-hour flights and even out customer flow.”

“Air Canada is committed to working with airports, the government and its other industry partners to further stabilize and improve all aspects of the air transport ecosystem. Air Canada fully appreciates the disappointment and inconvenience that schedule changes cause to customers, and does everything possible to mitigate these unfortunate situations. Customers are automatically notified when flights are cancelled. Whenever possible, they are immediately rebooked, while for others Air Canada will continue to look for alternatives and advise if options become available. Customers can also request a refund to the original form of payment at any time, and when compensation is due, Air Canada will honor its APPR obligations.”

Concerns about flights are expected to last through August, so many more travelers could end up facing the same issues.

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