Air Canada (AC) cancelled or delayed nearly 2,000 flights over the July 1 long weekend, leaving tens of thousands of people stranded or scrambling to make alternative travel arrangements.
Roughly half of all Air Canada flights during the busy holiday weekend were disrupted between Saturday and Monday, according to data from airline tracking service FlightAware.
In all, 1,965 flights were delays or cancelled, representing 52% of scheduled trips over the Canada Day weekend.
Other Canadian airlines, including WestJet, Air Transat (TRZ) and Flair Airlines reported much lower disruptions and a higher level of on time service.
Frustrated passengers took to social media over the weekend to vent about late takeoffs and poor customer service at Air Canada.
Canada’s air travel industry is now in the middle of its summer peak, with 600,000 people boarding Air Canada planes between June 30 and July 3, the Montreal-based company said.
Air Canada blamed the troubles during the long weekend on thunderstorms in both Canada and the neighboring U.S., as well as on a shortage of air traffic controllers and a surge in passengers.
The airline added that it is fully staffed, with more employees on the job than in the summer of 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
Air Canada’s stock has risen 52% over the last 12 months to trade at $24.96 a share.
