Flight disruptions are once again rippling across North America, with 37 flights reportedly canceled and 432 delayed across Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson, Los Angeles International Airport and Toronto Pearson. Air Canada and United Airlines are among the hardest hit carriers, as a mix of harsh winter weather, congested hubs and ongoing operational constraints combine to snarl schedules. For travelers in the United States and Canada, the fallout is immediate: missed connections, exhausted rebooking options and questions about what rights and alternatives they genuinely have when their journey falls apart.
The Scope of the Disruption Across Atlanta, Los Angeles and Toronto
On February 9, 2026, conditions at Toronto Pearson alone were described as severe travel disarray, with dozens of cancellations and more than two hundred delays linked to bitter cold and a lingering winter system. Operations at Hartsfield Jackson in Atlanta and Los Angeles International are also affected, creating a corridor of disruption touching some of the busiest air corridors between the United States and Canada. The total of 37 canceled flights and 432 delays represents only a slice of the broader turbulence affecting the continent’s skies, but it underscores how quickly problems at a few major hubs can cascade throughout airline networks.
For Air Canada, Toronto Pearson is its primary global hub, which means even a moderate reduction in takeoff and landing capacity has an outsized impact. When winter storms or extreme cold hit Toronto, schedules quickly unravel for flights to and from U.S. cities such as New York, Chicago and Washington, as well as for domestic Canadian routes. United Airlines, which uses both Hartsfield Jackson and Los Angeles as key connection points for U.S. domestic and transborder traffic, can see its carefully timed banks of flights thrown off balance by relatively small weather or air traffic control delays. Once rotations are disrupted at two or three major hubs simultaneously, late arrivals and missed crew connections make it more difficult to get aircraft and staff in the right place at the right time.
Beyond the raw numbers, the geographic spread is what makes this episode especially disruptive. Atlanta is the world’s busiest airport by passenger numbers, Los Angeles International is a crucial West Coast gateway and Toronto Pearson is Canada’s largest and most globally connected hub. Disruptions at any one of these airports can be painful; disruptions at all three on the same day mean that a traveler trying to get from, say, Denver to Montreal or Vancouver to Orlando might feel the effects, even if their itinerary never passes directly through the affected airports. The system is so tightly interlinked that delays propagate outward like ripples on a pond.
Why Air Canada and United Are Carrying the Heaviest Load
Air Canada and United Airlines have taken the brunt of the current wave of cancellations and delays for structural as well as situational reasons. Air Canada dominates Toronto Pearson, with a dense network of domestic, transborder and long haul international flights. When the airport imposes constraints on ground operations because of cold, snow or de icing needs, Air Canada inevitably absorbs a large share of the impact. Over recent days, the carrier has already acknowledged canceling large numbers of flights as it works through the aftermath of storm systems and operational incidents at Toronto, even while still transporting hundreds of thousands of passengers.
United is feeling pressure in a slightly different way. While Los Angeles is an important West Coast base, the airline’s broader network depends heavily on timed waves of flights between regional airports and its hubs. When a storm system, low visibility or ground hold affects one of those hubs, it can lead to multi hour delays that cause aircraft to miss their next rotations. Once a morning delay pushes into the afternoon, some flights become operationally impossible, forcing cancellations instead of departures. Even if only a handful of United flights are officially canceled at Los Angeles or Atlanta, many more can run late as aircraft are repositioned or crews hit legal duty limits.
Another factor is that both carriers are still operating within a fragile system recovering from earlier shocks. Air Canada has faced intense pressure over the past year following weather related disruptions and labor tensions, with its crews and ground staff working overtime to stabilize schedules. United, like other major U.S. carriers, has been juggling high demand, tight staffing in some roles and chronic strain on air traffic control capacity. Under those circumstances, even routine winter weather can tip the balance, turning what would once have been a manageable operational day into one where recovery takes several days instead of a few hours.
Weather, Winter Ops and the Vulnerability of North American Hubs
Much of the current turmoil is rooted in winter operations challenges. Toronto Pearson is grappling with a cold front that has driven temperatures and wind chills low enough to slow ground handling activities, from marshaling aircraft and loading baggage to fueling and de icing. When temperatures plunge and snow or ice threaten, airport authorities often reduce the flow of takeoffs and landings to maintain safe runway and taxiway conditions. That choice safeguards passengers and crews, but it also means airlines must prioritize certain flights over others, triggering cancellations and extensive delays.
Atlanta and Los Angeles are less frequently associated with severe winter weather, yet they are not immune to disruption. Heavy rains, low ceilings and visibility, as well as storm systems sweeping across the continent, can slow departures and arrivals. Air traffic control programs may impose spacing between aircraft for safety, extending taxi out times and creating airborne holding patterns. When those measures collide with already tight schedules, one delayed arrival can cascade into missed connections and late departures hours later. The result is the kind of uneven board many passengers see on airport displays: a mix of on time departures, minor delays and flights pushed back by multiple hours.
Winter also complicates aircraft readiness in ways that are not always visible to passengers. De icing queues can be long when multiple waves of flights target the same departure window, and any pause in operations to clear runways of ice or packed snow can rip through the schedule. Turnaround times stretch, crews may be delayed moving from one aircraft to another and gates can quickly become scarce. Even where runways are technically open, operations move more slowly, and travelers feel that slowdown in the form of rolling delay estimates and sudden gate changes.
What Rights U.S. and Canadian Passengers Have When Flights Are Disrupted
For travelers stuck in this latest round of cancellations and delays, understanding the difference between rights in the United States and Canada is critical. In the U.S., the Department of Transportation does not require airlines to compensate passengers financially for most weather related delays or cancellations. However, when a flight is canceled or significantly changed, passengers generally have the right to a refund if they choose not to travel, even if they bought a nonrefundable ticket. If the airline instead rebooks you and you accept the new itinerary, compensation is typically discretionary, though many carriers now publish customer service commitments that outline when they may offer meal vouchers or hotel rooms during disruptions under their control.
In Canada, the Air Passenger Protection Regulations introduce a clearer framework, especially for flights operated by large carriers like Air Canada and WestJet. Passengers can be entitled to compensation when delays and cancellations are within the airline’s control and not related to safety, with amounts based on the length of the delay at arrival. However, when disruptions stem from weather or other safety related issues, airlines are not obligated to pay compensation, though they still have to provide certain standards of treatment, such as food, drink and, in some circumstances, accommodation. For flights touching both countries, the regime that applies can depend on where the flight departs and which carrier operates it.
In both jurisdictions, if you are involuntarily bumped from a flight because it is oversold, you usually have stronger rights. U.S. regulations require cash compensation in many denied boarding situations, scaled to the delay to your final destination. In Canada, denied boarding compensation can also be due if the bumping is within the airline’s control, with specific amounts laid out for small, medium and large carriers. It is important for travelers to distinguish between being bumped due to overbooking and being unable to board because a flight has been canceled as part of a weather response, as the latter often falls outside mandatory compensation schemes.
Tarmac Delays, Food, Hotels and Rebooking: What You Can Expect
One of the most uncomfortable experiences during a disruption is being stuck on an aircraft that is not going anywhere. Both U.S. and Canadian regulators have put limits in place to protect passengers from excessively long tarmac delays. Airlines such as Air Canada have filed detailed contingency plans stating that they will not keep passengers onboard on the tarmac at a U.S. airport for more than a set number of hours without the opportunity to deplane, except in defined safety or air traffic control circumstances. During tarmac delays, carriers commit to providing food, water, lavatory access and updates on the status of the delay at regular intervals.
When delays stretch into many hours or a flight is canceled outright, passengers often ask whether they are entitled to meal vouchers or hotel rooms. The answer depends on the cause. If an airline cancels a flight for reasons within its control, such as crew or mechanical issues, many carriers will provide accommodation and meals for stranded passengers, especially for overnight delays. If the cause is weather or air traffic control restrictions, U.S. airlines in particular are less likely to provide hotels, though some may offer discounted rates or limited vouchers as a goodwill gesture. Canadian rules require standards of treatment in some cases even when weather is involved, but not necessarily full hotel reimbursement.
Rebooking options are another key element of what you can expect. During widespread disruption, airlines typically allow affected passengers to change their travel dates or routes without paying standard change fees, and sometimes without paying the fare difference if they stay in a similar cabin and rebook within a narrow time window. However, seat availability can vanish quickly, especially on peak routes such as transborder flights between Toronto and major U.S. hubs or cross country flights from Los Angeles. As aircraft reach capacity and alternative flights fill up, the realistic options may be to accept a much later departure or reroute through an entirely different city.
How to Protect Yourself Before and During a Disrupted Trip
While no traveler can control the weather or airport capacity, there are practical steps that can mitigate the pain of sudden cancellations or long delays. The first line of defense is to monitor your flight status through both the airline’s app and the airport’s information channels beginning at least a day before departure. When periods of intense cold or snow are forecast for Toronto or major hubs in the U.S., airlines sometimes issue flexible travel policies allowing passengers to voluntarily move their trips to earlier or later dates without penalty. Taking advantage of those waivers can help avoid the worst of the rush, especially if you have flexibility.
Booking strategically can also reduce risk. Nonstop flights, though sometimes more expensive, offer fewer points of failure than complex itineraries requiring tight connections at busy hubs. If a connection is unavoidable, building in a longer layover window at airports like Atlanta or Toronto during winter months gives you more buffer if the first leg arrives late. Where possible, early morning departures tend to be less affected by the day’s accumulating delays, though this is not guaranteed during major storms. Choosing airlines with multiple daily frequencies on your route also improves the odds of being reaccommodated quickly if your original flight is canceled.
Once disruption hits, speed and information become your most valuable tools. As soon as you receive notice that a flight is delayed significantly or canceled, use every available channel to seek solutions: the airline’s mobile app, website, phone lines and airport customer service counters. Social media teams sometimes help as well, though response times can vary. Being clear about your priorities, whether reaching your destination as soon as possible, ensuring overnight accommodation or preserving a specific connection, helps airline agents identify the best alternative. If you are traveling with checked bags, be prepared for the possibility that your luggage may not follow the same path you do, and pack essential medications, documents and one change of clothes in your carry on.
Alternatives When the Airline Cannot Get You There
When days of disruption stack up and available seats evaporate, travelers may need to look beyond simple rebooking on the same carrier. One alternative is asking the airline to endorse your ticket to another carrier with available seats, a practice that was more common in the past but still occurs in cases of significant disruption. Whether Air Canada will rebook you on United, or United on another partner or competitor, often depends on interline agreements and the scale of the operational problem. On routes where alliance partners share codes, such as certain U.S. Canada connections, airlines may be more willing to shift passengers across brands to keep people moving.
Ground transportation is another option, particularly on shorter transborder routes or within the same country. If you are trying to get between cities within driving distance, such as Toronto and Montreal or Atlanta and nearby regional destinations, renting a car or taking rail and bus services might be faster than waiting several days for a replacement flight. That said, road conditions can be hazardous during the same winter storms causing airport delays, so safety should always come first. For long haul trips, partial ground alternatives, such as repositioning to a less affected airport, can sometimes open up new flight options that were not available from your original departure point.
Some travelers also turn to travel insurance as a financial backstop when airlines do not offer compensation for weather related disruptions. Comprehensive policies may cover additional hotel nights, meals and even missed prepaid arrangements such as tours or event tickets, provided certain conditions are met. Credit cards that include built in trip delay or cancellation coverage can offer similar protection, often kicking in after a defined number of hours of delay. To make use of these benefits, keep all receipts for expenses, record times and reasons given for delays or cancellations and be ready to document that the disruption fits within the policy’s terms.
What This Episode Reveals About the State of North American Air Travel
The latest turmoil at Hartsfield Jackson, Los Angeles International and Toronto Pearson is part of a broader pattern that has emerged in North American aviation. The system is running close to capacity, with high demand for travel, constrained airport infrastructure in some locations and chronic stress on air traffic management. In that context, extreme weather events, whether blizzards in Canada or powerful storm systems across the United States, have more leverage than they once did. A single snowstorm or intense cold snap can trigger hundreds or thousands of cancellations over several days, and recovery takes longer.
For airlines such as Air Canada and United, the challenge is balancing ambitious schedules with sufficient buffers to absorb shocks. Too much spare capacity might be economically unsustainable, but too little leaves passengers acutely vulnerable when things go wrong. Recent patterns suggest carriers are still searching for that balance. They are investing in technology to improve crew planning, predictive maintenance and passenger notifications, yet the fundamental constraints of runway availability, de icing capacity and air traffic flow mean that some level of disruption is inevitable during peak winter conditions.
For travelers, the lesson is not to avoid flying, but to approach air travel during vulnerable seasons with realistic expectations and a plan. Rights frameworks in the U.S. and Canada provide some protection, particularly around refunds, denied boarding and standards of treatment, but they do not eliminate the inconvenience of overnight delays or missed events. Staying informed, making thoughtful booking choices and understanding when and how to push for rebooking or compensation can make the difference between an ordeal and a manageable detour. As this episode shows, when major hubs on both sides of the border are hit at once, preparation and patience become as essential as your boarding pass.