How extreme heat could lead to flight delays, cancellations for travellers

Extreme heat can cause various impacts for planes, including a decrease to the airplane's thrust, and as a result may prompt airlines to decrease weight including limiting cargo.

The summer is about halfway over, but as extreme temperatures continue to stifle many air travellers, it could also create an impact for those hoping to travel for a vacation away from home with airline industry experts saying such heat may lead to delays or even cancellations.

Just as the travel season was beginning in June, Canadian airports were anticipating droves with Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport expecting 2.2 million passengers a month — a new record — and Toronto Pearson International Airport projecting 160,000 a day.

Even though airports said they were ready for such numbers, extreme heat can still pose a problem.

“Heat and altitude are enemies of commercial airliners,” Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, told Global News.

Luton airport in London, U.K., for example, saw flights suspended in 2022 after high temperatures caused part of the runway to “lift.”

Harteveldt said when it’s hot, and even more so if you’re at an airport at a higher altitude, the air is less dense. That thinner air means the engines, the wings and even the tires of a plane “don’t work as well.”

Scientists at the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida say that thin air reduces lift on which planes rely for takeoff, but in addition, the engines produce less thrust during both takeoff and ascent.

According to Harteveldt, when facing extreme temperatures — 45 C for example — taking off can sometimes rely on things like more powerful engines or extremely long runways to give planes more time to achieve the thrust they need.