The major snowstorm expected to hit the province this weekend is affecting Holiday plans across the region.
Staffing issues at Toronto’s Pearson Airport have already been causing delayed flights out of Timmins, which airport manager Dave Dayment said may not bode well for the weekend.
Dayment said airport crews are always ready to tackle snow, but his worry is whether Toronto’s runways will face icing issues that will delay takeoffs.
“That’s out of our control and it’s out of the airline’s control, a lot of times, it’s the airport at the other end,” he said.
“So we’ll be here and do our best to make sure that we can get airplanes out, get travellers where they want to be for Christmas.”
Most travel agents CTV News called Thursday were too busy to chat as they find themselves overwhelmed with calls from travellers looking to get ahead of possible delays or cancellations.
One agent in North Bay said many people are checking their flight schedules online, as they should. But Chris Mayne of Mayne Travel said it won’t be easy to rebook a flight in the next few days if their current itinerary gets cancelled.
“The reality is here comes Christmas weekend, everything is just totally sold out,” Mayne said.
“So, if there are delays, if you miss a day or two of your Holiday this weekend because of weather delays, chances are you’re not going to be able to stay that full seven or 14 days, as you’d planned. You may have to saw off one or two days, to just come home, as planned.”
He said some may choose to skip the connecting flight and drive straight to Toronto to ensure they can make the trip. If you do that, Mayne said you should let the airline know so it doesn’t think the flight was missed and cancels the whole trip.
On that note, Environment Canada is cautioning drivers to change their travel plans, due to expected dangerous driving conditions starting mid-Friday.
The best course, officials say, is to get to the airport an hour before departure.
“Keep in touch with their airline,” Dayment said.
“We have both Porter going to Toronto and Air Canada, so have some patience.
“You’ll get there eventually and, hopefully, wherever you’re going, the weather is better than it is here,” Mayne added.
Officials said Pearson isn’t likely to see the same disruption as Vancouver, but that full closures have happened at Pearson and that some airlines are offering no-fee rebooking.
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