Calgary airport travellers stranded amid flight cancellations and delays

Vast lines of travellers at the Calgary International Airport find themselves stranded, with some saying there is no honest communication about when they can depart.

Dozens of people were seen sleeping on seats, with others standing or sitting around looking for answers.

With Christmas around the corner, the long waits and cancellations are wearing thin on people.

Peggy Brennan has been trying to submit a baggage claim when CityNews spoke with her, saying that she is now waiting until Friday to fly out.

“I don’t fly now till tomorrow at three in the afternoon, and that’s a maybe,” Brennan said.

“I’m just fighting online right now trying to submit a baggage claim because they didn’t even take our baggage off the airplane.”

She had plans to meet up with her husband at the airport, but delays got in the way of their holiday plans.

“I was originally just supposed to fly here (Calgary), and then my husband was meeting me here, and we were going to drive up north, but he ended up driving up north and then I was just going to fly straight out. So, now I’m here, and he’s there, so…I don’t know,” Brennan said.

She says her husband may have to drive from Fort McMurray to pick her up.

“This is the first, and never again,” she said.

Shannon Rotz from Vancouver was lucky to arrive amid the snowstorm affecting travellers from the Vancouver International Airport.

Rotz says she hasn’t slept and was told it wouldn’t be a good idea to “go home.”

“Because if you come back too late, they’ll have taken the bag somewhere and then you won’t get them,” Rotz said.

Greg and LeeLee Cortes drove from Red Deer to meet their daughter at the airport, who is supposed to fly out on a domestic flight. They say the situation is “frustrating” for travellers.

“It’s really hard to see that … because that stuff is from travellers who … maybe they have their luggage arrive, but they didn’t arrive,” Greg said. “Everybody wants to get home for the holidays,” LeeLee said.

Alex Judge, a traveller from Vancouver, says he has seen few employees at the airport, specifically with WestJet, and has been trying to figure out where his bags are.

“There was only like one or two people working, and I went up to WestJet and then they were saying that there’s nobody actually able to bring the bags down,” Judge said. “But then as soon as I see these new flights rolling in they’re getting their bags.”

“I’m not really sure exactly what’s happening.”

Air Canada has said travellers should rebook online if their flight is cancelled, while WestJet has been offering full refunds to passengers choosing to cancel beforehand.

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• Most flights leaving YVR cancelled due to ‘unprecedented’ snowstorm

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An Extreme Cold Warning remains in effect for Thursday in Alberta, with temperatures between -40 C and – 55 C throughout the province. Calgary is seeing a temperature of -38 C with windchill, with winds blowing at eight kilometres per hour.

Airport authorities issued a statement Wednesday saying, “it’s been a tough few days of travel delays for many.”

“While the harsh weather slows things down, we are working to ensure that, first and foremost, our guests and staff stay safe during these weather events,” a statement read.

“Environment Canada has indicated multiple weather systems and alerts for potential extreme weather in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. As a result, we anticipate further weather impacts on travel in the coming days.”

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WestJet has had 76 cancellations for Thursday out of 597 flights. It said more cancellations are expected to increase.

It has also said that there is “very limited” reaccommodation availability, due to the high demand for travel during the holidays, and the impact of weather. WestJet says reacommodation options will be communicated through email.

WestJet has continued to say that staffing has not been a problem for the company throughout the week.

“We are staffed appropriately for holiday travel, and our teams at the airport are working as quickly as possible to support all impacted guests,” an email from a spokesperson from WestJet said.

“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 who are battling frigid temperatures and extreme weather.”

CityNews has reached out to Air Canada for further comment.

-With files from The Canadian Press