TORONTO — Some Canadian airports and airlines spent Saturday issuing travel notices and catching up on a backlog left behind by a freeze on U.S. air traffic. One of Canada’s largest airports, Toronto Pearson International Airport, said it called in more staff to help out with the day. “A busy day of travel is underway at Toronto Pearson,” it said in a social media post early Saturday. Calgary-based WestJet said in a separate post that it was responding to a significant travel disruption, while Porter Airlines said it would likely take the whole weekend for its flights to return to normal schedules. “We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding,” a Porter spokesperson said in an email Saturday. Chaos at airports across Canada began after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a so-called ground stop order on Friday that brought air traffic in that country to a halt for roughly four hours. The U.S. government said new technology being added to the nation’s air traffic control system overloaded antiquated equipment and caused intermittent communications and radar gaps. Air Canada said Saturday it cancelled approximately 250 flights after the order, which affected some 27,000 passengers. “This was a significant disruption, and its effects have carried over into today, with additional cancellations as aircraft and crews are out of position across our network,” said Yasmine Mehdi, an Air Canada spokesperson. “Returning to normal operations will take some time.” It said it was working as quickly as possible to add new flights to its schedule and help people catch flights. A Porter Airlines spokesperson said in an email that it would refund its customers who can’t accommodate rescheduled flights. Airports in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Halifax issued travel notices and asked travellers to double-check their flight statuses before leaving their homes. “We appreciate travellers’ patience as schedules begin to normalize,” the airport in Calgary said. With files from The Associated Press
