Passengers at Regina airport line up after their flights were canceled Thursday morning. (Shane Clausing/980 CJME)
Flight cancellations affecting most airports across Canada are now being felt right here in Saskatchewan.
As of 9 a.m. Thursday, Regina and Saskatoon airports had to cancel four flights each.
Staffing issues with WestJet and weather delays are believed to be the reason some planes have been halted.
Laureen McWilliams was to travel from Regina to Calgary, where she was to be transferred to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She flies with WestJet and says she received no notification about the cancellation until she was on her way to the airport at 4am.
“We only got the email notification on the way, so now we’re queuing because the Calgary portion has been canceled, so we won’t be flying our connecting flight,” she explained. .
McWilliams says she rented an Airbnb for two weeks in Mexico. She is now afraid of running out of money because she cannot use her Airbnb.
“Obviously if I don’t go there I’m going to have to pay the Airbnb,” she said. “Who will accommodate me for this?”
Akash Parmr is scheduled to fly from Regina to India and will make its first connection in Toronto. Although he still has time to catch a connecting flight later, he says he is stressed.
“It’s awful. I’m so stressed because I can’t miss that connecting flight,” he said. hope they’ll fix something.”
He said he did not learn of the cancellation of his flight to Toronto until he showed up at the airport Thursday morning.
“I couldn’t check in online, so I walked in to check in,” he explained. “No one even bothered to let me know it was cancelled. They should send me an email or something to let me know it was cancelled.
Nathan Okoh says he was supposed to fly home to Fort McMurray on Wednesday, but his flight was canceled. When he checked into the airport on Thursday for his new flight, that too was cancelled.
As someone who doesn’t fly a lot, he says it’s frustrating.
“I haven’t flown in 10 years,” Okoh said. “That, in addition to the flight anxiety, kinda pisses me off, but what can you do? Things happen.”
Most of the canceled flights at Regina airport on Thursday were WestJet. Saskatoon has seen several flights canceled for Sunwing and WestJet.
Earlier this week, WestJet posted on its social media feeds where it discussed the current flight situation.
We sincerely apologize to those affected by cancellations/delays due to winter conditions. We understand your frustration, especially at this time of year. Our teams are mobilizing to relocate you as quickly as possible.
—WestJet (@WestJet) December 21, 2022
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