‘A complete gong show’: Winter storm upends holiday air travel in Canada, thwarting family gatherings and more

After a massive storm struck across Canada on Dec. 23, air travel was upended. Hundreds of flights were severely delayed or cancelled, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

Linda Ricker hasn’t spent Christmas with her son since 2020. That year, she travelled from her Florida home to visit him in Halifax, where he attends university. After quarantining for two weeks, she was able to enjoy quality time with her only child.

This year, Ricker thought, would be different. COVID-19 restrictions are no longer in effect for air travel. It could be a “normal” Christmas again.

But after a giant winter storm struck across Canada on Friday, air travel was upended. Hundreds of flights were severely delayed or cancelled, leaving passengers stranded and unable to reunite with loved ones for the holidays.

Ricker’s son was one of the thousands affected — his Air Canada flight from Halifax to Fort Myers was cancelled, leaving him unsure of holiday plans.

At least 60 departing flights were cancelled at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on Christmas Day, the airport said. Roughly 80 arrivals were also cancelled, while many passengers experienced hours-long delays.

WestJet said 32 of its flights scheduled for Sunday were cancelled, after hundreds of others were cancelled Friday and Saturday.

According to the flight tracking software FlightAware, as of Sunday afternoon there had been more than 200 flights cancelled at Pearson in the previous 24 hours.

Ricker’s son was eventually rebooked to fly to Toronto on Monday. He would then have to wait almost 20 hours to fly to New York before arriving in Florida late Tuesday night.Linda Ricker hasn’t spent Christmas with her son since 2020. That year, she travelled from her Florida home to visit him in Halifax, where he attends university. After quarantining for two weeks, she was able to enjoy quality time with her only child.

This year, Ricker thought, would be different. COVID-19 restrictions are no longer in effect for air travel. It could be a “normal” Christmas again.

But after a giant winter storm struck across Canada on Friday, air travel was upended. Hundreds of flights were severely delayed or cancelled, leaving passengers stranded and unable to reunite with loved ones for the holidays.

Ricker’s son was one of the thousands affected — his Air Canada flight from Halifax to Fort Myers was cancelled, leaving him unsure of holiday plans.

At least 60 departing flights were cancelled at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on Christmas Day, the airport said. Roughly 80 arrivals were also cancelled, while many passengers experienced hours-long delays.

WestJet said 32 of its flights scheduled for Sunday were cancelled, after hundreds of others were cancelled Friday and Saturday.

According to the flight tracking software FlightAware, as of Sunday afternoon there had been more than 200 flights cancelled at Pearson in the previous 24 hours.

Ricker’s son was eventually rebooked to fly to Toronto on Monday. He would then have to wait almost 20 hours to fly to New York before arriving in Florida late Tuesday night.