Travelers across Canada are facing another bruising day of disruption as Air Canada grapples with 28 flight cancellations and 206 delays, snarling traffic through major hubs including Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City, Montreal and Victoria. The latest wave of operational turmoil comes on the heels of a winter season already marked by repeated system-wide slowdowns, leaving thousands of passengers stranded, rebooked or forced to abandon their plans altogether. For visitors and business travelers alike, the uncertainty is reshaping how they plan and navigate journeys across the country.

Nationwide Disruption: What Is Happening Today

The current tally of 28 cancellations and 206 delays for Air Canada adds yet another layer of chaos to a Canadian air travel network already under strain from recurring winter storms and tightly stretched airline operations. While other carriers are also affected, Air Canada’s position as the country’s largest airline and dominant player at key hubs means its disruptions ripple quickly through the system.

In practical terms, the numbers translate into long queues at check in counters, jammed customer service lines and departure boards awash with revised departure times. Many of the delays are stretching well beyond an hour, and some involve rolling pushbacks that leave passengers repeatedly shuffling between seats and gate screens. Even where flights eventually depart, missed connections and lost time on the ground are forcing last minute hotel stays and itinerary overhauls.

The problems are not isolated to a single region. Rather, they reflect a network under pressure from severe winter weather patterns, congestion at major hubs and a steady buildup of knock on effects each time a storm or operational glitch hits. For travelers attempting cross Canada itineraries, a delay in Toronto or Montreal can cascade into missed links in Ottawa, Quebec City or Victoria by evening.

Major Hubs Under Strain: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City

Toronto Pearson, Canada’s busiest airport, remains the epicenter of disruption whenever the national network stumbles. Today's Air Canada delays are particularly concentrated here, impacting both domestic shuttles to Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City and longer haul services heading west and south of the border. Travelers describe crowded terminals and difficulty securing information as understaffed desks work through long lines of rebooking requests.

Montreal Trudeau is facing its own bottlenecks as a key connecting point between Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario and transatlantic routes. Even when storms move on, aircraft and crew are often out of position, leading to morning cancellations that reverberate throughout the day. For international visitors using Montreal as a gateway, disrupted feeder flights from other Canadian cities are causing forced overnight stays and missed tours or meetings.

Ottawa and Quebec City, while smaller than Toronto and Montreal, are feeling the downstream impact. High frequency shuttle flights, which usually offer multiple daily options and quick recovery from individual delays, lose that resilience when dozens of services across the network are running behind schedule. Business travelers shuttling between the federal capital and financial centers report being pushed to later departures, rerouted through different hubs or, in some cases, told to travel the following day.

Disruption Reaches the West: Victoria and Beyond

On the West Coast, Victoria and other regional airports are experiencing the fragile side of hub and spoke operations. Many of these routes rely on tight connections through Vancouver or Calgary, so any disturbance in the central network can quickly strand passengers at small terminals with limited backup options. When inbound aircraft arrive late or miss their slots altogether, regional flights are delayed or canceled, often with only a handful of later alternatives.

For travelers heading to or from Vancouver Island, this means a heightened risk of being stuck overnight on either side of the Strait of Georgia. Some passengers are resorting to ferries and ground transport to salvage their travel plans, particularly when they face the prospect of waiting many hours for a rebooked flight that might itself be delayed in turn. The disruption illustrates how vulnerable smaller Canadian communities are when major carriers like Air Canada face systemic operational stress.

Beyond Victoria, ripple effects continue through secondary cities across the Prairies and Atlantic Canada. Flights that rely on aircraft cycling from Toronto or Montreal are leaving late or being removed from the schedule entirely. For visitors on tight itineraries, particularly in winter peak season, a single missed connection can mean forfeiting non refundable hotel nights, excursions and rental cars in destinations far from the affected hub.

Why This Keeps Happening: Weather, Capacity and System Fragility

Winter in Canada has always posed challenges for aviation, but the scale and frequency of recent disruptions point to deeper structural issues. Severe snowstorms and freezing rain can shut down runways, slow de icing operations and reduce air traffic capacity, yet airlines have also pushed their schedules and fleets closer to the limit in an effort to meet high demand and contain costs. This leaves very little margin when storms roll through or when an aircraft or crew becomes unavailable.

At major hubs, a single morning of heavy snow can cascade into an entire day of delays as aircraft are late arriving for their next legs and crews hit their legal duty time limits. When airlines respond by trimming schedules or consolidating flights, cancellations spike. Even after conditions improve, airports must work through a backlog of displaced passengers and rebalanced aircraft rotations, which can keep disruption simmering for days.

Travelers are also encountering the side effects of chronic staffing pressures across the aviation ecosystem, from ground handling to security to air traffic control. While airlines like Air Canada have rebuilt their schedules since the pandemic years, rebuilding a robust staffing pipeline has taken longer. The result is a system that operates smoothly in ideal conditions but bends quickly under stress and recovers slowly after each shock.

How Air Canada Is Responding and What Passengers Can Expect

Air Canada is urging passengers to monitor their flight status closely and use digital tools for rebooking when disruptions hit. The airline’s conditions of carriage and customer service commitments outline standards of treatment when delays stretch beyond set thresholds for reasons within the carrier’s control or tied to safety considerations. Depending on the cause and length of delay, these standards may include meal vouchers, hotel accommodation for overnight disruptions and assistance with ground transportation.

However, not all delays or cancellations trigger the same level of support. Weather related disruptions, which are common during the Canadian winter, often fall into categories where airlines have reduced obligations for compensation. In these cases, the carrier may still help passengers find the next available seat and provide information, but cash payments or guaranteed hotels are not always offered. Understanding these distinctions is critical for travelers attempting to assert their rights at the airport.

In practice, response quality can vary based on the severity of disruption and local staffing. At busy hubs, dedicated service desks for rebooking can shorten wait times, while at smaller stations frontline staff may be overwhelmed, leaving passengers to navigate phone lines or apps. Many stranded travelers are learning to combine multiple strategies: joining the physical queue while calling customer service, using the airline’s app to search for alternative routings and, when necessary, considering self funded reroutes and later seeking reimbursement where policies allow.

Know Your Rights: Canadian Passenger Protections

Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations have been gradually strengthened, giving travelers clearer entitlements when flights are canceled or heavily delayed. Under updated rules, airlines are required to provide meals after a certain delay threshold, offer overnight accommodation where necessary and issue refunds within a defined period when a passenger chooses not to travel following a major disruption. These obligations apply whether problems stem from issues within the airline’s control or from exceptional circumstances, although compensation amounts and eligibility can differ.

For Air Canada passengers, this framework interacts with the airline’s own published policies on delays, cancellations and tarmac delays. Travelers whose arrival at their final destination is pushed back by several hours may be entitled to compensation based on the length of the delay and whether it resulted from factors within the carrier’s control. Those who decide that the trip no longer serves its purpose after extensive disruption may be eligible for refunds rather than rebooking, depending on the circumstances.

Despite these protections, many travelers remain unaware of what they can reasonably demand at the airport. In today’s wave of cancellations and delays, some stranded passengers are successfully securing hotel stays and meal vouchers, while others report confusion or inconsistent information from different agents. For visitors unfamiliar with Canadian regulations, especially those in transit between international destinations, the absence of clear guidance can amplify frustration during already stressful disruptions.

Practical Strategies for Travelers Caught in the Chaos

For anyone traveling in or through Canada while Air Canada faces elevated cancellations and delays, preparation and flexibility are essential. Building extra buffer time into itineraries, especially when connecting to cruises, remote tours or important events, can reduce the risk of cascading losses. Booking earlier flights in the day, when there is more room to recover from disruptions, also improves the odds of eventually reaching your destination the same day.

Once delays start to show on the departure board, speed matters. Travelers should check their airline’s mobile app or website at the first sign of trouble and explore self service rebooking options while simultaneously queuing at staffed desks. In many cases, the fastest solutions are found online, particularly when rerouting through alternative hubs or pairing flights with available seats from partner airlines. Keeping essential items, medications and a change of clothes in carry on bags can soften the blow if you end up unexpectedly overnight in a hub city.

Travel insurance and credit card protections can also play a critical role. Policies that cover trip interruption or delay may reimburse hotel stays, meals and alternative transport when airline obligations fall short, especially when weather is to blame. Documenting every receipt and keeping records of delay notifications makes filing claims easier later. For frequent travelers to and within Canada, choosing coverage designed around winter travel disruptions can make the difference between absorbing heavy out of pocket costs and salvaging a disrupted journey.

The Takeaway

The latest wave of Air Canada cancellations and delays, with 28 flights scrubbed and 206 running late across key cities from Toronto and Ottawa to Quebec City, Montreal and Victoria, confirms that Canadian air travel remains vulnerable to sustained disruption. Winter weather remains a central trigger, but network fragility, staffing pressures and tight scheduling have left both airlines and airports struggling to bounce back quickly when storms hit or systems stumble.

For travelers, the lesson is not simply to brace for inconvenience, but to travel smarter. Understanding your rights under Canadian passenger protection rules, preparing for contingency plans, carrying essential items in hand luggage and using every available digital tool to rebook can transform a chaotic situation into a manageable delay. While no amount of planning can fully insulate visitors from a snarled network, informed decisions and realistic time buffers can significantly reduce the personal impact.

As the season progresses, all eyes will be on how carriers like Air Canada adapt. Investments in staffing, de icing capacity and schedule resilience will determine whether future storms cause similar waves of stranded passengers. Until then, anyone planning to cross Canada or connect through its major hubs would be wise to assume that winter can still rewrite even the best laid travel plans.

FAQ

Q1. Why are so many Air Canada flights canceled or delayed right now?
Air Canada is contending with a combination of severe winter weather, congestion at major hubs like Toronto and Montreal, and a tightly scheduled network that leaves little spare capacity when storms or operational issues arise. When one part of the system slows down, delays and cancellations quickly ripple nationwide.

Q2. Which Canadian airports are most affected by these disruptions?
The heaviest impacts are being felt at major hubs such as Toronto Pearson and Montreal Trudeau, but travelers in Ottawa, Quebec City, Victoria and numerous regional airports are also experiencing delays and cancellations as disruptions spread through the network.

Q3. How do these disruptions affect connecting flights within Canada?
When an initial flight is delayed or canceled, connecting passengers may miss onward services, leading to forced rebooking, overnight stays or reroutes through alternative hubs. High frequency shuttle routes that normally recover quickly can become clogged when dozens of flights across the system are running behind schedule.

Q4. What rights do I have as a passenger when my Air Canada flight is delayed or canceled?
Under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations and Air Canada’s own policies, you may be entitled to meals, hotel accommodation and, in some cases, financial compensation, depending on the length of the delay, whether the cause is within the airline’s control and whether you choose to be rebooked or refunded.

Q5. Will Air Canada pay for my hotel if I am stranded overnight?
In many situations where the disruption is within the airline’s control or related to safety decisions, Air Canada will arrange or reimburse hotel accommodation for out of town passengers who are forced to stay overnight. However, when delays are solely due to weather or other factors outside the carrier’s control, hotel coverage is not always guaranteed.

Q6. What should I do as soon as I learn my flight is delayed?
Check your flight status through the airline’s app or website, then immediately look for rebooking options while joining any queue for in person assistance. Acting quickly increases your chances of securing scarce seats on later departures or alternative routings before they fill up.

Q7. Is travel insurance useful in this kind of situation?
Yes. Comprehensive travel insurance or credit card protections that include trip delay or interruption benefits can help cover hotels, meals and alternative transport when airline obligations are limited, particularly for weather related disruptions that do not trigger compensation.

Q8. How much buffer time should I allow when connecting through Canadian hubs in winter?
Whenever possible, plan for several hours between connecting flights, especially if you are linking to cruises, remote excursions or events with fixed start times. Longer layovers provide a cushion if your first flight is delayed and make it easier for airlines to rebook you if things go wrong.

Q9. Can I reroute through a different city to avoid heavily affected hubs?
In some cases, yes. Agents and online tools may allow rerouting through less congested hubs or pairing flights on partner airlines to bypass particularly disrupted airports. Availability is limited during major disruption events, so these options are best explored early.

Q10. What can international visitors do to better prepare for travel in Canada during winter?
International visitors should monitor weather forecasts and airline advisories closely, book flexible fares when feasible, pack essential items and a change of clothes in carry on bags, consider travel insurance tailored to winter conditions and build generous time buffers into itineraries that involve cross country connections or time sensitive activities.