Flight delays

A winter storm in the Toronto area is wreaking havoc on flights in and out of Thunder Bay.

Thunder Bay International Airports Authority president and CEO Scott McFadden on Friday said the weather, expected to dump as much as 25 centimetres of snow on the Ontario capital, is affecting different airlines in different ways.

Air Canada has cancelled all its flights into and out of Toronto, West Jet has delayed its flights, while Porter Airlines, flying out of Billy Bishop Airport in the centre of the city, is operating pretty much on schedule.

There’s little Thunder Bay passengers can do, McFadden said.

“One of the drawbacks of being so closely tied to such an important and such a big market is that most of our commercial traffic is between Thunder Bay and Toronto,” McFadden said. “So when they see a snowflake or two it can have a very big impact on our customers and our bottom line.”

The Thunder Bay International Airport makes most of its income from landing and other fees assessed to airlines flying in and out of the city, as well as money spent by passengers in the 18-year-old terminal.

Though all airlines are facing similar weather conditions, not all planes are meant to fly when snowfall reaches certain levels.

“Different aircraft require different conditions,” McFadden said. “And Porter is also flying to a different airport, although in the same region, but nevertheless they could face different conditions there. And different airline policies and de-icing becomes a big thing.”

According to McFadden, when de-icing is required, it usually leads to the cancellation of a quarter of all scheduled flights.

A few stranded passengers lulled around Thunder Bay International Airport on Friday, passing the time either in the lounge, the food court or napping while they waited for their flight to arrive.