WestJet flight cancellations impact travellers at YYC as pilots' strike looms
CTV
WestJet flight cancellations are causing travellers at the Calgary International Airport to reschedule their itineraries or miss out entirely on vacation plans as the airline faces a looming pilots' strike.
WestJet flight cancellations are causing travellers at the Calgary International Airport to reschedule their itineraries or miss out entirely on vacation plans as the airline faces a looming pilots' strike.
As of Thursday afternoon, 92 WestJet flights had been cancelled across Canada, including 26 departures from Calgary.
More than 1,800 pilots at the carrier and its Swoop subsidiary are poised to walk off the job by 3 a.m. MT after the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) issued a strike notice Monday.
The impact was felt immediately by 36 students and five staff members at West Island College in Calgary, who were set to leave early Thursday morning on a red-eye flight to New York.
Erin Corbett, head of school and CEO, said the flight was cancelled Wednesday evening, forcing students to miss out on an entire day of planned tours in the Big Apple.
"We missed out on a number of gallery tours and a dinner and a couple of special events. We don't know what their refund will look like. We'll have to work with our tour provider on that," she said.
"Now, it looks like we're all able to go together and we're just hoping we're actually all booked on another afternoon flight with Air Canada."