Over 200 flights delayed at Vancouver airport this weekend
CBC
More than 200 flights were delayed at Vancouver's airport between Saturday and Sunday, with the airport authority attributing the delays to ongoing staffing constraints at Canada's air traffic control agency.
Nav Canada has been seeing ongoing issues for months, with a shortage of air traffic controllers at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in particular regularly causing delays.
With more than 425,000 passengers expected to transit through YVR in the lead up to Canada Day, Monday is expected to be the busiest travel day of the four-day stretch.
Nav Canada said it's doing its best to add flight capacity where possible, and that its goal is always to minimize the impact on passengers.
"We know that any delay, regardless of the duration, can be impactful to Canadians and travellers," a spokesperson wrote in an email. "We always encourage passengers to check the status of their flight with their airlines."
A YVR spokesperson said that 186 flights were delayed on Saturday and, as of 11:20 a.m. PT on Sunday, 24 flights were reporting delays.
"As delays are a result of staffing constraints at [Nav Canada], we cannot speak to whether impacts will persist over the coming days," the spokesperson said.
Stephen Smart, the airport's head of communications, told CBC News on Sunday that at one point on Saturday, the average delay on a flight was two hours.
Normally about 36 planes an hour can land at YVR, but at one point on Saturday that fell to 16, Smart said.
More than 88,000 passengers are expected to transit through YVR on Monday, according to the airport authority.
YVR directly attributed the delays to Nav Canada.
But Nav Canada said air traffic delays are rarely the fault of a single organization.
"Air traffic delays can occur for a range of reasons — weather being the most frequent, but also runway construction, infrastructure maintenance, surges in demand, and personnel resourcing," Nav Canada wrote in a statement.
"Airports, airlines, baggage handling, security screening services, and [Nav Canada] all play a part in the broader aviation system."
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.