Snowbirds flew over Quebec on Thursday with stops in Quebec City and Montreal

Snowbirds take flight over Montreal The Canadian Armed Forces’ famed Snowbirds flew over Montreal Thursday in the hopes of raising people’s spirits

MONTREAL — The Canadian Armed Forces’ Snowbird jets continued their tour of Canada in Quebec on Thursday, with stops in Quebec City and Montreal.

The nine-jet formation has been zigzagging through the skies in hopes of boosting the country’s morale as it continues to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

After darting through the New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island skies on Wednesday, the Snowbirds flew through the Bas-Saint-Laurent region and onto Rimouski. They travelled along the Saint-Lawrence River in the Témiscouata region to Rivière-du-Loup, before landing in Saguenay for the night.

On Thursday, the jets left the Canadian Armed Forces base in Bagotville at 9:30 a.m. to head to Saint-Siméon in Charlevoix. They then followed the north banks of the river to Quebec City, where they landed at the Jean-Lesage International Airport around 10:30 a.m.

The jets took off from Quebec City at 12:45 p.m. to fly above the river, over to Trois-Rivières. They then headed south, so their signature white smoke trails could be seen by folks in Drummondville, Granby, and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, before landing at the Montreal airport around 1:45 p.m.

At about 4:15 p.m., the Snowbirds will take off from Montreal to follow the river west to Cornwall, Ontario, before flying northwest for a scheduled landing in Ottawa at 5:15 p.m.

Lieutenant-General Al Meinzinger, a commander with the Royal Canadian Air Force, said that since Canadians can’t gather to attend air shows, the Snowbirds team will come to them as a tribute amid the pandemic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2020.