Travel across Canada is once again under strain as Toronto Pearson International Airport grapples with a new wave of weather related flight cancellations and delays. On February 9, 2026, more than two hundred flights were affected at Pearson alone, with at least 62 cancellations and over 230 delays reported as airlines including Air Canada, WestJet, Jazz Aviation and Porter struggled to maintain schedules in the face of bitter cold and operational slowdowns. The disruption comes on the heels of a record breaking late January snowstorm that had already left carriers and passengers with a fragile and congested travel network.
Fresh disruption at Toronto Pearson as winter refuses to relent
The latest round of travel interference at Toronto Pearson unfolded on February 9, 2026, as an intense cold front swept across southern Ontario, compounding the impact of an already punishing winter. Airport operations teams were forced to contend with wind chill values dipping to dangerous levels and persistently low temperatures that slowed virtually every step of the departure and arrival process. De icing operations took longer, ramp crews rotated more frequently to avoid exposure, and taxiing aircraft moved cautiously on icy surfaces.
Aviation analytics data for that day showed 62 flight cancellations and 232 delays tied to Pearson, pushing the total number of affected flights well past two hundred when combined. Air Canada and WestJet absorbed a significant share of the disruption, alongside regional partner Jazz Aviation and other domestic and international carriers. Flights linking Toronto with major hubs in Canada, the United States and Europe were caught up in the slowdown, with routes to New York, Chicago, Montreal and Ottawa facing notable schedule upheaval.
Airport authorities described the situation as a severe travel disarray, underscoring that while runways and taxiways remained open, the extreme conditions meant aircraft movements had to be carefully managed to preserve safety. The effect on passengers was immediate and visible within the terminals, where departure boards filled with delay notices and a steady stream of cancellations.
Record snowfalls set the stage for a fragile flight network
The February 9 disruption did not occur in isolation. It followed a series of powerful winter systems that have repeatedly targeted southern Ontario and the wider Central Canada region since mid January. On January 25 and 26, Pearson recorded an extraordinary 46 centimetres of snow in a single day, surpassing a 59 year record for the airport and making January the snowiest month in decades for Toronto’s air hub.
That storm brought operations close to a standstill. At the height of the event, aviation data indicated that around 41 percent of scheduled flights at Pearson were cancelled, with similar proportions wiped from the board at downtown Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. In raw numbers, more than 600 flights at Pearson were cancelled by the morning of January 26 as crews laboured to clear runways, taxiways and apron areas and to de ice stranded aircraft.
While airlines gradually rebuilt their schedules in the days that followed, the storm left behind a complex web of displaced aircraft, rerouted crews and stranded passengers. Subsequent Arctic outbreaks and smaller snow systems through late January and early February compounded the challenge, repeatedly forcing carriers to trim schedules, apply weather waivers and rebook travelers. Against this backdrop, the February 9 cold driven disruption pushed an already fragile network back into a state of high stress.
How major airlines at Pearson are being affected
Air Canada, the dominant carrier at Toronto Pearson, has been at the epicenter of this winter’s operational turmoil. During the record snow event in late January, the airline cancelled hundreds of flights across its network and has since faced a steady drumbeat of schedule adjustments as further systems swept through Central Canada and the northeastern United States. On February 9, Air Canada again shouldered a large portion of Pearson’s cancellations and delays, especially on short haul domestic and transborder services that rely heavily on quick turnarounds.
WestJet, which operates a significant presence at Pearson in addition to its western Canadian bases, has similarly battled cascading knock on effects. Earlier storms forced WestJet to cut flights to and from Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, and the latest cold snap has extended those challenges, particularly on connections that link Toronto with western hubs and sun destinations. The tight interdependence between bases means that a mechanical delay or weather hold in Toronto can ripple westward within hours.
Regional operator Jazz Aviation, flying under the Air Canada Express banner, has faced its own operational squeeze. The short stage lengths and frequent departures that define regional flying leave less margin when de icing queues lengthen and taxi times stretch. Many of the cancellations logged on high frequency routes such as Toronto to Ottawa, Montreal and smaller Ontario cities have involved regional aircraft operated by Jazz and other partners, creating headaches for business travelers and commuters who rely on predictable shuttle style services.
Passenger experience: long waits, missed connections and frayed plans
For travelers, the cumulative impact of these disruptions has been measured not only in cancellation statistics but also in long hours spent in terminals and on aircraft waiting for clearance to depart. At the height of the latest cold related slowdown on February 9, Pearson’s concourses were crowded with passengers watching departure times slide further into the evening or the following day. Airlines set up additional rebooking counters and strengthened call center staffing, but heavy demand and limited inventory on alternative flights meant many customers faced overnight stays or significant detours.
Missed connections have been particularly acute for those traveling beyond Toronto. Passengers arriving late from domestic points such as Halifax, Winnipeg or Calgary often found their onward flights to Europe and the United States already departed or cancelled. Rebooking options were constrained by the same weather systems affecting hubs like New York, Boston and Chicago, which were dealing with their own delays and cancellations linked to the ongoing North American cold wave.
Families heading to holiday destinations and business travelers on tight schedules have expressed frustration with the uncertainty, though many also acknowledged that safety considerations must prevail when visibility drops and icy conditions threaten the safe operation of aircraft. In interviews with Canadian media, some passengers described more than one aborted trip attempt as they returned home after an initial cancellation, only to come back to the airport to face further delays during the next weather system.
Ground operations under pressure from cold and snow
The difficulties at Toronto Pearson are not solely airborne. Ground operations have been under intense pressure through this winter’s sequence of storms and cold snaps. When temperatures plunge and wind chills tumble below minus 30 degrees Celsius, standard turnaround times are no longer realistic. Ramp agents and ground crews must work shorter shifts outdoors to minimize frostbite risk, equipment requires more frequent checks, and processes like fuelling and loading slow dramatically.
De icing, a routine but crucial part of winter operations, becomes a significant bottleneck in such conditions. Aircraft must be cleared of accumulated snow and ice in dedicated areas before taxiing to the runway, and in heavy snowfall or freezing drizzle, the protective fluids have limited holdover times. This can mean that even small runway queues result in aircraft needing a second de icing cycle, further delaying departures and tying up scarce de icing trucks and crews.
Pearson’s operator has emphasized the scale of the effort required, citing more than one hundred pieces of snow removal and de icing equipment in use at peak times, alongside continuous snowplow rotations covering millions of square metres of paved surfaces. These efforts have largely succeeded in keeping the airfield open, but they cannot eliminate the need to slow aircraft movements when visibility drops or when strong crosswinds raise safety concerns on approach and departure.
Systemwide implications across Canada and beyond
Because Toronto Pearson serves as Canada’s busiest airport and a major international hub, any period of widespread disruption there quickly reverberates across the national and continental air travel system. The January record snowstorm triggered cancellations and delays not only in Toronto but also at airports in Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City and Halifax, where connecting passengers could not reach or leave Pearson on time. Similar knock on effects have been evident during the February 9 cold driven event, with flights to and from western cities like Vancouver and Calgary impacted as aircraft and crews remained out of position.
The broader North American network has been strained by concurrent weather impacts south of the border. Major United States hubs in the Northeast and Midwest have also faced snow and extreme cold this season, reducing the ability of carriers to reroute passengers through alternative cities when Toronto becomes constrained. In some cases, flights have been cancelled preemptively with weather waivers issued, in an effort to reduce the number of travelers stuck mid journey and to give airport and airline staff more room to manage those already in motion.
International connections have not been immune. Long haul flights linking Toronto with London, Paris, Frankfurt and Asian gateways have departed late, diverted or been cancelled outright during the worst conditions. When those flights do not operate, the downstream consequences are felt for days as seat inventory tightens and travelers scramble for limited alternatives on already busy transatlantic and transpacific routes.
Advice for travelers navigating Toronto’s disrupted skies
With weather driven disruptions now a recurring feature of this Canadian winter, travel planners are urging passengers using Toronto Pearson to adapt their habits and expectations. One of the most commonly cited recommendations is to avoid tight connections, particularly through Toronto, Montreal or other snow prone hubs. Building in longer layovers where possible can reduce the risk of misconnecting when an inbound segment is delayed by de icing or runway congestion.
Travel experts also suggest that passengers consider booking earlier flights in the day. Morning departures tend to have a better chance of operating closer to schedule before delays accumulate through the afternoon and evening. In cases where severe weather advisories are issued well in advance, many airlines, including Air Canada and WestJet, have been offering flexible rebooking policies that allow customers to move their travel to another day without additional fees, provided they stay within certain fare conditions.
Another practical step involves preparation for the possibility of extended airport waits. Packing essential medications, chargers, snacks and warm clothing in carry on luggage can make a lengthy delay more manageable, especially when terminal services are crowded. Travelers are also encouraged to monitor their flight status frequently, as schedules can change multiple times in a short window during active weather events, and to ensure that airlines have up to date contact information to send alerts by text or email.
Looking ahead: resilience in the face of a volatile winter
As of February 10, 2026, airlines and airport authorities across Canada remain in recovery mode from an exceptional sequence of storms, snowfalls and Arctic outbreaks. For Toronto Pearson, which has now endured record single day snowfall, multiple days of double digit cancellation rates and fresh waves of delays affecting hundreds of flights, the priority is to stabilize operations while maintaining safety standards in an environment that continues to change day by day.
Industry observers note that climate volatility is likely to keep posing challenges for winter operations, even as airports invest in more sophisticated de icing technology, expanded snow removal fleets and improved forecasting tools. The experience of this season has illustrated how quickly a major hub can move from near normal operations to widespread disruption when record setting weather coincides with tight airline schedules and high travel demand.
For passengers, the recent chaos at Toronto Pearson is a reminder that flexibility and preparedness are now essential parts of air travel planning, particularly in the heart of the Canadian winter. While the latest cold front and the more than two hundred affected flights it triggered will eventually recede into statistics, the lessons learned by airlines, airports and travelers alike are likely to shape how Canada navigates its increasingly unpredictable winter skies in the years ahead.