Canada’s four major airports have been affected by the grounding of all American flights after the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide stop on all departing flights.
The international airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal said on the afternoon of Nov. 11 that all flights to and from the United States have been temporarily suspended. This followed the U.S. FAA ordering all planes to stay grounded “due to extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety.”
The FAA said the ground stop is related to air traffic control communications issues.
Vancouver airport said it was aware of the nationwide technological issue affecting the United States that forced the grounding of planes, which meant the airport was experiencing delays for U.S.-bound departures and some international flights over North America.
The airport added that the technology issues had not affected Canadian flights, urged travellers to check their flight status before coming to the airport, and said it would provide updates.
Toronto-Pearson said it currently had no scheduled U.S.-bound departures or arrivals, but urged passengers to check with their airline for the latest information before travelling to the airport, and would provide further updates.
Montreal and Calgary airports echoed Vancouver and Toronto airports’ comments, with Montreal airport adding that passengers should expect flight delays and cancellations.
Montreal airport said it would have restrictions from 6 to 8 p.m. EST because of “reduced system capacity,” according to a Nav Canada notice to airmen.
Canada’s Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon wrote online that the federal government was aware of the nationwide ground stop in the United States that affected many airports and was monitoring the situation in partnership with Nav Canada.
“While Canadian systems are operating normally, travel to the United States may be disrupted as a result of the ground stops,” he said. “We will continue to monitor developments as the situation evolves and remain in contact with the relevant authorities.”
This is a developing story, more to come.
