‘Hoping for a miracle’: Travellers stranded at Ottawa airport ahead of New Year’s Eve

Extreme winter weather has caused flight cancellations and delays into and out of Ottawa, leaving some passengers stuck for days. CTV’s Dylan Dyson reports.

The departures board at the Ottawa airport was washed in yellow and red Tuesday, signalling dozens of flight delays and cancellations for travellers hoping to mark the new year with friends and family.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, at least 66 flights out of Ottawa were either cancelled or delayed by at least 20 minutes.

Operating flights to the Maritimes, United States, and elsewhere, Porter Airlines was among the many airlines affected by inclement weather over the past few days.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa regarding the extensive delays and cancellations, Porter wrote, “The primary cause is weather at varying locations that has included severe rainfall, blizzard conditions, freezing rain and high winds. This has led to delays and cancellations in some cases due to the weather itself and subsequent effects on crew being displaced.”

These travel impacts have had major implications for families such as Angelina Bossia’s, who had plans to ring in the new year in New Jersey.

“We just got an email saying that the flight got cancelled,” Bossia told CTV News on Tuesday morning.

“We came this morning and they repeated that this flight was cancelled and that we just had to be rebooked until January 5th, which is not an option for us.”

It was a similar situation for solo flyer Matea Andonova, who had two flights to Fredericton, N.B., cancelled in the span of two days.

“They said that the second flight from Ottawa to Fredericton was cancelled, and then last minute they were like, no, just get on the flight, it’ll be easier, the people in Ottawa will figure it out,” she said of her connection from Toronto to Ottawa, before flying to the east coast.

Andonova arrived in Ottawa around 9 p.m. Monday and has been residing in the airport since, struggling to get on a standby flight, she says.

“Then when we got here, there was nothing. We didn’t get a hotel or anything,” she said. “My next flight is tomorrow at 7 p.m., so then I arrive, I think, at 9:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. I was supposed to there yesterday at 1 p.m.”

In its statement, Porter Airlines noted that flights are already very full at this time of year, making rebooking cancelled passengers difficult. The company says new flights are being added to minimize delays where possible.

Porter adds that when delays or cancellations are within the company’s control, it can offer meal and hotel vouchers, but this does not apply to inclement weather.

With the clocking ticking down towards New Year’s Eve, time is running out for Bossia and her family, who planned to stick it out at the airport until a flight became available.

“We’ve been calling the call center, going to the counter several times, still trying to not lose hope. We’re just hoping for a miracle.”

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