Nearly 2,000 Air Canada flights delayed, cancelled at Pearson Airport in Mississauga and elsewhere

Some 2,000 Air Canada flights were delayed or cancelled over the Canada Day long weekend at Pearson Airport in Mississauga and other airports across the country as the carrier experienced logistical and other issues.

Online tracking service FlightAware reported that Canada’s flagship carrier delayed or cancelled more than 52 per cent of all trips between last Saturday and this past Monday. That included a number of flights operated by the airline’s low-cost Air Canada Rouge and regional partner Jazz Aviation.

In total, 1,965 flight delays and cancellations were reported by Air Canada July 1 to 3, according to FlightAware, as the summer peak travel season moved into high gear.

Some 600,000 customers boarded Air Canada planes between last Friday and this past Monday, the airline said.

In addition to logistical issues, thunderstorms in Montreal and parts of the U.S. also affected flights.

Meanwhile, other Canadian airlines WestJet, Air Transat and Flair reported considerably fewer disruptions to their flights.

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The significant disruption in flights prompted a wide-scale response on social media from scores of travellers angry and frustrated that they once again had to face delays, cancellations and huge lineups at Pearson and Montreal airports in addition to other major Canadian hubs.

It was reminiscent of the chaos last summer when those same issues were happening on a regular basis at Pearson and other airports as air travellers returned to the skies in huge numbers following the removal of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Air Canada has said it is fully staffed these days, with more employees than in summer 2019, despite running fewer flights.

The unsettling start to Air Canada’s summer flying season comes in the midst of negotiations between the company and its pilots on a new contract. The current pact expires on Sept. 29.

–with files from The Canadian Press