Canadian airlines cancel scores of flights due to Hurricane Harvey
Posted August 29, 2017 5:15 pm.
Last Updated August 29, 2017 6:36 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canada’s two largest airlines have cancelled scores of flights, affecting thousands of passengers, due to the massive hurricane that has flooded parts of Texas.
Calgary-based WestJet says 25 flights between Calgary and Houston have been cancelled since Friday, impacting travel plans for 1,400 passengers.
It says aircraft are positioned to resume service when the situation on the ground has improved.
Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport says on its website that it should reopen for commercial traffic on Thursday at noon local time.
WestJet says it is tentatively planning to operate one flight that day and one on Friday. Extra flight segments will be added over the weekend to help transport passengers.
Air Canada has cancelled several flights between Houston and airports in Montreal and Toronto. It wouldn’t provide details about the number of passengers affected.
The Montreal-based carrier (TSX:AC) says in a website advisory that customers who purchased tickets directly with the airline for flights between Saturday and Sept. 5 to Houston, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and San Antonio International Airport can change their flights free of charge until Sept. 20.
Passengers who purchased tickets through Aeroplan or Air Canada Vacations should contact them directly.
Hurricane Harvey has dumped a record 49.32 inches of rain on Texas.
America’s fourth-largest city has been paralyzed by the storm that arrived as a Category 4 hurricane. Forecasters expect it will head back inland east of Houston sometime Wednesday then head north and lose its strength.
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