As Toronto Snowstorm Disrupts Flights, ACV Earns Online Praise from Advisors

Whew – that was a wallop!

In a stark reminder of how we’re all forever at the mercy of Mother Nature, a seemingly never-ending Ontario snowstorm brought flight operations in and out of Toronto to a near standstill over the weekend.

The storm that hit Ontario and Quebec was part of a massive system that tracked across North America, bringing snow and ice to dozens of states and provinces. 

More than 10,700 flights were cancelled on Sunday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Sunday morning, the storm represented the highest experienced cancellation event since the pandemic.

On the weekend of January 24 and 25, Environment Canada issued severe weather warnings across southern Ontario, forecasting heavy snow accumulations in Toronto, with dangerously low temperatures and wind chills far below -30 °C at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Canada’s busiest airport saw more than half of its scheduled flights cancelled and numerous others significantly delayed as runway crews battled blizzard-like conditions and reduced visibility.

Major carriers including Air Canada, WestJet, United Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, and American Airlines were forced to adjust schedules, leaving thousands of passengers stranded, rerouted, or holding at satellite hubs as outbound services were scrubbed or delayed. According to FlightAware, Saturday (January) 24 saw 181 cancellations at Toronto Pearson and more than 500 on Sunday (January 25).

As of Monday morning, FlightAware reports approximately 554 cancelled flights at Toronto Pearson (and 234 cancelled within/into/out of the U.S.) today with about 89 delayed flights today at Pearson (and 21 delays within/into/out of the U.S.)

Air Canada is offering a winter-storm travel waiver allowing passengers with itineraries to, from, or through Toronto Pearson (and other nearby airports) to change their flights without change fees. WestJet is also following suit, with no-charge change fees until January 27.

The storm caused chaos for advisors. In a social media post in Canadian Travel Professionals, advisors specifically praised Air Canada Vacations’ timely response to the storm; giving a shout out to Erminia Gallina, Director of Sales for staying on top of things.

“Did you all see the message from Erminia (VACV) today with guidance re flight cancellations and how to handle them? She and her team really do stand out. I have reasons to value all the TO’s but she/her team are another level,” began one post.

“As usual, ACV understands the importance of the roles we play in planning client travel, and their responsibility to communicate with us effectively. Erminia is ALWAYS on top of things,” commented another.

“I have to give ACV kudos. They really stepped up trying to help the agents via their Facebook. Being really present answering questions as they are presented, Erminia Gallina and her team have been on top of it. Yes it’s still frustrating with the systems and call times but at least they are communicating. We may not get the answers we want but they are at least trying to. They are really showing the other TOs what it means to be there for agents,” added another advisor.