Air Travel

WestJet Airlines says a system outage Thursday morning is delaying some flights and intermittently impacting the company’s operations. A Westjet employee assists people checking in for a domestic flight at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Thursday, January 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

WestJet check-in restored after system-wide outage snarled cross-country travel

System outages affected both WestJet Airlines and air traffic control agency NAV Canada

WestJet Airlines says a system outage Thursday morning is delaying some flights and intermittently impacting the company’s operations. A Westjet employee assists people checking in for a domestic flight at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Thursday, January 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
People travel at Pearson International Airport during the Covid-19 pandemic in Toronto, on Dec. 3, 2021. Even though air traffic is on the upswing, Covid testing of international passengers is causing the system to be backed up. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Canada bringing back mandatory random testing of travellers arriving at main airports

Testing resume for fully vaccinated travellers arriving at Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto

People travel at Pearson International Airport during the Covid-19 pandemic in Toronto, on Dec. 3, 2021. Even though air traffic is on the upswing, Covid testing of international passengers is causing the system to be backed up. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Exhausted travellers having a nap in the airport. (Carla Leinweber/Submitted)

B.C. woman collapses in airport after living there for days due to flight cancellations

Carla Leinweber, 66, gave up on her vacation after flights were cancelled countless times over 5 days

Exhausted travellers having a nap in the airport. (Carla Leinweber/Submitted)
A plane is silhouetted as it takes off from Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., Monday, May 13, 2019. For those who remain undeterred by the daunting lines and flight delays at Canadian airports, questions remain about how to save money on air travel amid mounting fuel costs and inflation.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

How to find cheaper flights this year as airfares soar

Airfares jumped 11.6 per cent year over year in May

A plane is silhouetted as it takes off from Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., Monday, May 13, 2019. For those who remain undeterred by the daunting lines and flight delays at Canadian airports, questions remain about how to save money on air travel amid mounting fuel costs and inflation.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Air Canada planes sit on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Air Canada to slash summer flight schedule as airports face lengthy delays

154 flights per day on average dropped from the airline’s schedule

Air Canada planes sit on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Passengers lineup at the check in counter at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport, in Montreal, Wednesday, June 29, 2022. An analytics firm says a majority of domestic flights to some of Canada’s busiest airports were delayed or cancelled over the past week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Spike in domestic flight delays, cancellations as global gridlock continues

Aviation industry has blamed on a shortage of federal security and customs officers

Passengers lineup at the check in counter at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport, in Montreal, Wednesday, June 29, 2022. An analytics firm says a majority of domestic flights to some of Canada’s busiest airports were delayed or cancelled over the past week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Chris Nowrouzi, CEO and Co-Owner of FlyGTA, is photographed at Buttonville Airport in Markham, Ontario on Saturday June 25, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Private air travel takes off in Canada— but can it stay aloft?

Airport delays and chaos pushing more wealthy people to fly privately

Chris Nowrouzi, CEO and Co-Owner of FlyGTA, is photographed at Buttonville Airport in Markham, Ontario on Saturday June 25, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Signage for a COVID-19 screening centre is pictured at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C. Friday, February 19, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Airport screening officers go casual to call out ‘disrespect’ from Ottawa

Ottawa scrambling to respond to lines, delays and turmoil due to staffing issues at airports

Signage for a COVID-19 screening centre is pictured at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C. Friday, February 19, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
People wait in line to check in at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Thursday, May 12, 2022.Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the federal government is working on new measures to help ease the issues at major airports, adding that a “similar phenomenon” is happening worldwide.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Federal ministers say they’re working on measures to end delays at airports

The Conservatives have been calling on the government to lift travel restrictions

People wait in line to check in at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Thursday, May 12, 2022.Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the federal government is working on new measures to help ease the issues at major airports, adding that a “similar phenomenon” is happening worldwide.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
People wait in line to check in at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Thursday, May 12, 2022.The Canadian Airports Council is asking the federal government to do away with COVID-19 protocols at customs to clear up the chaos that international travellers experience when they arrive in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Regular travel and public health measures can’t coexist: Canadian Airport Council

Council wants federal government to do away with random tests and public health questions at customs

People wait in line to check in at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Thursday, May 12, 2022.The Canadian Airports Council is asking the federal government to do away with COVID-19 protocols at customs to clear up the chaos that international travellers experience when they arrive in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
An airliner lands at Tampa International Airport Friday, March 19, 2021 in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puska, File)

Passenger brings small plane in for safe Florida landing after pilot falls ill

‘My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane’

An airliner lands at Tampa International Airport Friday, March 19, 2021 in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puska, File)
Guide Eli Schellenberg, in red, leads climbers down from the summit of the Mt. Norquay Via Ferrata near Banff, Alta., Thursday, June 20, 2019. Even as gas prices hit record highs, Canadians are fanning out across the country for fresh travel experiences after two years of bottled-up demand. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Canadians hold their noses at gas prices as they hit the road, skies once again

Some tourism operators expected to double down on domestic markets

Guide Eli Schellenberg, in red, leads climbers down from the summit of the Mt. Norquay Via Ferrata near Banff, Alta., Thursday, June 20, 2019. Even as gas prices hit record highs, Canadians are fanning out across the country for fresh travel experiences after two years of bottled-up demand. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Grounded Air Canada planes sit on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Air Canada reported a first-quarter loss of $974 million compared with a loss of $1.30 billion a year earlier as its revenue more than tripled. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Air Canada to jack up fares amid higher fuel costs, weak business travel

Carrier more than tripled its revenues last quarter, but losses still significant

Grounded Air Canada planes sit on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Air Canada reported a first-quarter loss of $974 million compared with a loss of $1.30 billion a year earlier as its revenue more than tripled. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
A Sunwing aircraft is parked at Montreal Trudeau airport in Montreal on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Sunwing Airlines Inc. says thousands of passengers remain stranded and the start of vacations delayed as the company continues to struggle with a technical problem that has grounded flights. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Technical issue continues to disrupt travel plans for thousands of Sunwing passengers

About 15 out of the more than 40 scheduled flights have been processed since issue surfaced

A Sunwing aircraft is parked at Montreal Trudeau airport in Montreal on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Sunwing Airlines Inc. says thousands of passengers remain stranded and the start of vacations delayed as the company continues to struggle with a technical problem that has grounded flights. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
A Sunwing Boeing 737-800 passenger plane prepares to land at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Wednesday, August 2, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

‘Almost stranded:’ Sunwing delays dozens of flights, leaving passengers up in the air

Several thousand Canadians are affected due to what is being called a ‘system issue’

A Sunwing Boeing 737-800 passenger plane prepares to land at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Wednesday, August 2, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Lynx Air CEO Merren McArthur poses for a portrait in Calgary, Alta., Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. Lynx Air is making its inaugural flight today, the latest entrant to Canada’s increasingly crowded budget airline market.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Lynx Air launches maiden voyage, joining Canada’s low-cost carrier dogfight

Firm formerly known as Enerjet aims for 148 flights a week on more than a dozen routes by July

Lynx Air CEO Merren McArthur poses for a portrait in Calgary, Alta., Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. Lynx Air is making its inaugural flight today, the latest entrant to Canada’s increasingly crowded budget airline market.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
FILE - Residents watch as a China Eastern passenger jet prepares to take off on a test flight from the new Beijing Daxing International Airport on Monday, May 13, 2019. State media are reporting a Chinese airliner from China Eastern with 133 people on board crashed in the southern province of Guangxi on Monday, sparking a mountainside fire. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Chinese airliner crashes with 132 aboard in country’s south

Forest fire visible from space in the country’s worst air disaster in a decade

FILE - Residents watch as a China Eastern passenger jet prepares to take off on a test flight from the new Beijing Daxing International Airport on Monday, May 13, 2019. State media are reporting a Chinese airliner from China Eastern with 133 people on board crashed in the southern province of Guangxi on Monday, sparking a mountainside fire. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
A passenger checks in at a Westjet counter at the Calgary Airport in Calgary, Alta., Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. WestJet Airlines Ltd. is preparing for an “immediate and dramatic” uptick in demand in the wake of the government of Canada’s decision to remove pre-entry COVID-19 testing requirements for vaccinated travellers.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

WestJet foresees busy summer travel season as testing requirements dropped

WestJet has seen a dramatic jump in bookings as a result of recent changes in travel requirements

A passenger checks in at a Westjet counter at the Calgary Airport in Calgary, Alta., Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. WestJet Airlines Ltd. is preparing for an “immediate and dramatic” uptick in demand in the wake of the government of Canada’s decision to remove pre-entry COVID-19 testing requirements for vaccinated travellers.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
A plane is silhouetted as it takes off from Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., Monday, May 13, 2019. Airlines are facing a second headwind of skyrocketing oil prices — which could make airfares even more expensive.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Rising fuel costs could mean pricier airfares as carriers confront another hurdle

Price of jet fuel up by more than 27 per cent to US$142 a barrel as of last week

A plane is silhouetted as it takes off from Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., Monday, May 13, 2019. Airlines are facing a second headwind of skyrocketing oil prices — which could make airfares even more expensive.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
A Sunwing Boeing 737-800 passenger plane prepares to land at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Wednesday, August 2, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Transport Canada fines passengers on Sunwing party flight

6 passengers who were not fully vaccinated have received fines that could reach a maximum of $5,000

A Sunwing Boeing 737-800 passenger plane prepares to land at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Wednesday, August 2, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov