Extreme weather causes significant flight cancellations

WestJet says snow in British Columbia and extreme cold in Alberta have caused hundreds of flight cancellations over the past three days.

The airline says in a release that there were 210 cancellations on Tuesday, mainly due to disruptions in Vancouver and frigid temperatures in Calgary and Edmonton.

It says in a release that there were 146 flight cancellations on Monday and 104 on Sunday.

Morgan Bell, a WestJet spokeswoman, says its teams at airports are working as quickly as possible to support all of their guests.

She says the winter weather is also affecting its staff and service partners, including the ability of some employees to get to work safely.

Bell says the severe weather is making it a challenge as WestJet works to stabilize its operations and fulfil mandatory crew rest safety requirements.

"The ongoing extreme cold weather warnings affecting Alberta and prolonged forecasted snow and weather events for regions across B.C. inclusive of Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan, are having a severe impact not only on our operations, but our staff and service partners," Bell said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2022