Snowstorm cancels dozens of flights at Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Ontario

Thursday’s snowstorm that hit the GTA and southern Ontario forced the cancellation of dozens of flights into and out of Pearson Airport in Mississauga.

Given the messy weather conditions, officials at Pearson said things went relatively smoothly at Canada’s biggest and busiest airport as the cancelled flights represented just eight per cent of the total number of arriving and departing aircraft throughout the day and night.

“Thanks to our amazing team at Toronto Pearson, we successfully had a total of 973 departures and arrivals (on Thursday), in addition to only having eight per cent of flights cancelled by the airlines during the storm,” Pearson officials said via social media on Friday morning, adding the airport’s airfield maintenance crew, deicing specialists and ground handlers deserve credit for working tirelessly on Thursday to keep the flow of flights moving.

The airport further noted that Pearson deicing crews handled 263 aircraft on Thursday, taking an average of seven minutes, 45 seconds to safely prepare the planes for flight.

According to Pearson, the airport received a total accumulation of seven centimetres of snow.

Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a winter weather travel advisory on Thursday, with heavy snowfall and 70 km/h winds expected.

Airfield surface maintenance specialists use 106 specialized pieces of snow removal equipment to keep runways clear, Pearson noted.

A video (see below) shows a behind-the-scenes look at snow-clearing operations from a previous snowfall.

Love may be in the air today, but tomorrow it might be snowflakes. The current forecast shows Toronto may see between five to 10 cm of snow. Our airfield surface maintenance specialists are prepared with 106 specialized pieces of snow removal equipment to keep runways clear. And… pic.twitter.com/kkjRovsQUF

— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) February 14, 2024

(Cover photo: Pearson Airport)