Wabush Airport runway closure strands hundreds of passengers for days
CBC
One Labrador man is worried he might not make it home for the holidays after Wabush Airport cancelled multiple flights for several days.
Since Friday, the airport’s runway has been closed to traffic due to severe weather and PAL Airlines said it’s significantly disrupting operations.
“Although the forecast was initially favourable for Sunday, weather and runway closure once again forced PAL Airlines to cancel both scheduled flights and additional planned recovery flights during the day,” it said in a social media post.
Lucas Fitzpatrick is one passenger trying to make it home to Labrador City, but has been left stranded in Quebec City.
His journey home started on Friday, when he went to Montreal hoping to catch a morning flight to Wabush. He said the plane was fully boarded for an hour when they were told that they wouldn’t be taking off that day.
On Saturday his flight was rescheduled to take him to Quebec City, then Labrador. But once arriving in Quebec City, Fitzpatrick said the flight was cancelled again.
While the airline says it is working to, or has provided, accommodations to stranded passengers, Fitzpatrick says PAL declined to offer him any help.
“I asked about accommodations and they said it was weather related so they couldn't. They didn't do anything,” he said. “I am very annoyed.”
Now, Fitzpatrick said he is relying on help from his family. Although he has a flight scheduled for a Monday morning flight, he isn’t hopeful.
If delayed again, he says “My parents are … willing to fill a few jerry cans and drive to Quebec City to get me.”
Labrador MP Phillip Earle also took to social media to address the runway closures, writing he has been in communication with the Wabush Airport and the airline.
“Airport crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to improve runway conditions, while the airlines have deployed additional staff and resources and are working around the clock to recover operations and clear the backlog of affected passengers,” he wrote.
Earle said the airport is focused on restoring service safely and further updates will be provided.
CBC News has asked Pal for comment but has not received a response at time of publishing.
When the federal government tabled its 2025 budget last month, it included a proposal that tax fraud experts say is long overdue — if also a belated acknowledgement that the Canada Revenue Agency has been repeatedly duped into paying out untold millions in bogus tax refunds to scammers.
Talking with an AI chatbot can successfully convince people to change their votes and could affect the outcome of future elections, according to a new study.
While some are writing wishlists for Santa Claus, a group of Newfoundland and Labrador youth are writing their wishlist for the provincial government.
A horse owner near Stewiacke, N.S., says the current shortage of hay in the province is putting pressure on her financially.
Victoria Volkanova was remembering Jewish resilience and courage by celebrating Hanukkah on Sunday.
Winnipeggers are still digging out from this past week’s winter wallop, but the wait for roadside assistance is almost over, according to the provincial motoring association.
When long-time journalist Cornelia Naylor picked up the first copy of her newly printed community newspaper this week, it wasn’t something she had ever expected to do.
The province's police watchdog is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman in Toronto Sunday.
Toronto police say a collision involving several vehicles in the city's east-end left one driver in life-threatening condition Sunday.
A church service in Stratford, P.E.I., brought together Christmas traditions from across the globe on Sunday.
On an extremely cold day, many people would prefer to stay home, cozy up under a blanket, and put on the TV, radio, or a favourite podcast.
In an era of Ring doorbells and No Soliciting signs, breaking the evening silence of a suburban London street can sometimes feel like a radical act.
For years, oil tanker traffic has been prohibited off the waters of northern British Columbia in order to protect environmentally sensitive coastlines from disaster.