A fast-moving winter storm swept across Central Canada on 24 February, forcing airlines to cancel 135 flights and delay another 144, according to Cirium data cited by Travel And Tour World. Toronto Pearson, Montréal-Trudeau and Ottawa bore the brunt, while knock-on crew-rotation issues rippled west to Calgary and Vancouver. Air Canada Rouge, WestJet, Porter and Jazz collectively accounted for 86 per cent of the cancellations. Carriers activated fee-free rebooking windows through 26 February and reminded passengers of their rights under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR). Travellers whose delays exceeded three hours for reasons within carriers’ control—but not safety-related—are eligible for compensation of up to CAD 1,000, plus meals and accommodation. Snow and ice typically fall under the “uncontrollable” category; however, staffing or de-icing logistics shortfalls can shift liability back to the airline. For corporate mobility teams the incident highlights the importance of proactive disruption dashboards. Several multinationals headquartered in Toronto told Global Mobility News that they re-routed urgent U.S. client visits via Buffalo and Detroit using chauffeured ground transport, avoiding domestic hub congestion but adding cross-border paperwork. Airport authorities are under pressure to accelerate implementation of their new snow-clearance performance targets, due to take full effect in winter 2026-27. The Greater Toronto Airports Authority said it deployed 500 maintenance staff and 250 pieces of equipment but acknowledged “capacity constraints” during peak snow-treatment cycles.
Source: Travel And Tour World
