Thousands of air passengers found themselves unexpectedly grounded across Canada, Europe and South America today, as a fresh wave of weather and operational disruptions triggered 87 flight cancellations and 229 delays involving Porter Airlines, Avianca and Air France.

The disruptions rippled through key hubs including Toronto, Montreal, Bogota, Paris and Amsterdam, upsetting travel plans at the height of a busy winter travel period and stretching airline and airport support teams to their limits.

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Snow and Winter Weather Snarl Canadian Operations

In Canada, a powerful winter system that moved across Ontario and Quebec over the weekend continued to wreak havoc on airline schedules into Monday, hitting both Toronto and Montreal particularly hard. Porter Airlines, which operates a dense network of regional services from Toronto’s Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and other eastern Canadian cities, reported a series of cancellations and cascading delays as crews and aircraft struggled to reposition in icy and low-visibility conditions.

Ground operations teams at Toronto’s airports battled heavy snowfall, gusting winds and recurring de icing queues, which extended turnaround times well beyond normal. Airport authorities warned that runway clearing and safety checks were taking longer than usual and that capacity had been temporarily reduced to keep movements within safe limits. While some flights managed to depart with significant delays, many early morning and late evening services were scrubbed altogether when the weather window closed faster than forecast.

Passengers in Montreal faced similar disruptions as winter conditions pushed airlines to trim schedules and consolidate flights. Travellers queued at airline counters and service desks seeking rebooking options and overnight accommodation, with some reporting delays of more than six hours. For many, even securing a standby seat proved difficult as the patchwork of cancellations filled every remaining available seat to near capacity.

Porter Airlines Passengers Face Tight Capacity and Limited Alternatives

Porter Airlines customers bore the brunt of the turbulence in eastern Canada. With a relatively small fleet and a network built around short haul connections, Porter’s operation has less flexibility when multiple aircraft and crews are displaced at once. The airline said it was working to rebook affected passengers on the next available flights, but high load factors during the winter travel period left limited spare capacity to absorb stranded travellers.

At Toronto’s Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, long lines formed at customer service counters as passengers sought clarity on when they could expect to reach destinations such as Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, New York and Boston. Some reported receiving overnight notifications of cancellations, while others only learned of disruptions upon arrival at the terminal, when departure boards showed flights repeatedly slipping back in time before being finally marked as canceled.

Porter staff urged travellers to use the airline’s online tools to manage their bookings rather than wait in line, noting that rebooking could be completed digitally in many cases. However, connectivity issues at busy terminals and the sheer volume of affected passengers meant that call centers and apps also experienced heavy traffic. Travellers who had booked onward connections on other carriers or who were due to embark on cruises and tours reported particular anxiety as they calculated whether their revised itineraries would still line up.

Avianca Disruptions Ripple Through Bogota and Transatlantic Routes

In South America, Avianca passengers found themselves stranded in Bogota and other key Colombian gateways as the airline implemented an irregular operations schedule that left a number of flights either canceled or heavily delayed. While the immediate driver of the disruption varied by route, a combination of crew scheduling bottlenecks, aircraft rotations affected by earlier delays, and weather related air traffic control restrictions were cited as key factors.

At Bogota’s El Dorado International Airport, one of Latin America’s busiest hubs, long lines formed at both domestic and international check in counters as Avianca struggled to reset its schedule after a chaotic overnight period. Travellers heading to and from North America and Europe, including those bound for Toronto and major European capitals, reported missed connections and sudden gate changes with little notice. Families returning from holidays and business travellers alike juggled hotel bookings, missed meetings and rapidly changing arrival times.

The knock on effects extended beyond Bogota as Avianca’s regional flights across Colombia, Central America and the Andean region faced shifting departure times. Smaller cities served by only one or two daily flights found themselves effectively cut off for much of the day when a cancellation left no same day alternative. Passengers voiced frustration over the limited number of rebooking options and the challenges of securing compensation or vouchers at crowded service desks, even as airport staff attempted to hand out food and drink coupons where regulations required.

Air France Cancellations Add Pressure in Paris and Amsterdam

Across the Atlantic, Air France passengers encountered their own travel nightmares as the carrier canceled and delayed numerous services from its Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly hubs. The disruptions were compounded by lingering operational strain following recent storms in Western Europe and slot restrictions imposed while French air traffic control managed flow rates through congested airspace. The result was a patchwork of last minute schedule changes that confounded even experienced travellers.

In Paris, departure boards displayed a mosaic of red and amber status lines as flights to destinations across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Americas were delayed or withdrawn from the schedule. Transatlantic passengers headed to Canadian cities such as Montreal and Toronto faced particularly acute uncertainty, with some long haul flights operating but their onward connections already canceled or significantly delayed. Others saw their flights retimed into narrow operational windows that depended on rapidly shifting weather conditions.

Amsterdam, one of Europe’s key connecting hubs and a frequent partner airport for Air France itinerary combinations, also saw equipment and crew imbalances that translated into sudden cancellations. Passengers connecting from Air France flights to codeshare or partner airlines in Amsterdam reported missed onward departures and lengthy waits for re routing. Some were offered hotels and meal vouchers, while others said they were left to arrange their own accommodations, depending on the reason cited for the disruption and the jurisdiction governing passenger rights.

Passengers Stranded Across Multiple Cities With Limited Options

By mid day, scenes of stranded travellers had become common across Toronto, Montreal, Bogota, Paris and Amsterdam, as well as secondary cities linked into the networks of Porter Airlines, Avianca and Air France. Seating in departure halls and landside check in areas quickly filled, leaving latecomers perched on luggage or leaning against walls while they waited for updates. Power outlets became prime real estate as travellers recharged phones and laptops in order to monitor airline apps and communicate with family, employers and hotels.

Many passengers described feeling whipsawed by changing information. Estimated departure times shifted multiple times on digital displays, sometimes inching forward in hope before suddenly sliding back by several hours or flipping to “canceled.” Some travellers reported receiving text messages and emails from airlines that conflicted with what they were seeing at the airport, forcing them to repeatedly verify details with gate agents and call centers.

For those with fixed commitments at their destinations, such as weddings, medical appointments or critical business meetings, the uncertainty carried real consequences. Several passengers arriving into Toronto and Montreal on delayed international flights discovered that domestic connections onward to smaller Canadian cities had already departed or been canceled, leaving them with unexpected overnight stays. In Bogota, travellers connecting to regional tourist destinations found that fully booked flights for subsequent days limited their ability to recover their itineraries quickly.

Airlines Activate Irregular Operations Playbooks

Faced with mounting disruption, Porter Airlines, Avianca and Air France activated their irregular operations playbooks, deploying additional staff to customer service counters and urging passengers to use digital tools wherever possible. Each airline emphasized that safety remained its overriding priority, noting that decisions to cancel or delay flights were made in close coordination with airport authorities and air traffic control when conditions failed to meet operating thresholds.

Porter Airlines reminded customers that when flights are canceled, the carrier typically seeks to rebook affected passengers on the next available Porter service at no additional charge, depending on seat availability and fare rules. Travellers experiencing extended delays or cancellations were advised to log into their bookings to explore alternative flights or to request credits or refunds where eligible, especially if their delay exceeded several hours or pushed their arrival more than a full day beyond the original schedule.

Avianca and Air France likewise highlighted their rebooking and assistance policies, which vary according to the cause of the disruption and the jurisdictions involved. In some cases, passengers were entitled to hotel stays, meals and ground transportation when disruptions were deemed controllable by the airline. In other instances, particularly where weather or air traffic restrictions were cited as the primary cause, airlines focused on rebooking and providing vouchers within the limits of local and international regulations governing passenger rights.

Travel Rights, Compensation and What Stranded Passengers Can Do

The latest wave of cancellations and delays has again thrust passenger rights and compensation rules into the spotlight, particularly across jurisdictions that apply different standards, such as Canada, the European Union and various Latin American countries. Travellers affected by Porter Airlines disruptions on flights to, from or within Canada may be eligible for reimbursement of certain expenses, flight credits or even cash compensation in situations where delays or cancellations fall within the carrier’s control, including some safety related issues that originate from the airline’s own operations.

In Europe, Air France passengers on flights departing from EU airports, or operating into the bloc on EU carriers, fall under European air passenger regulations that set out clear thresholds for financial compensation in cases of long delays, cancellations and denied boarding, except where extraordinary circumstances such as severe weather or airspace closures apply. This framework often entitles eligible passengers to standardized compensation amounts based on distance and delay length, in addition to care in the form of meals, hotel stays and communication assistance.

For Avianca customers, the situation can be more complex, as their rights depend on the origin and destination of the flight and the applicable national regulations or international conventions. In many cases, passengers are at least entitled to clear information, re routing at the earliest opportunity, and basic care measures during extended waits. Consumer advocates urged travellers to keep all receipts for food, accommodation and transportation incurred as a direct result of disruptions, as these may be needed to support subsequent claims.

How Travellers Can Navigate Ongoing Disruptions

With weather systems still in play across parts of North America and Europe, aviation authorities and airlines warned that additional disruptions remained possible in the coming days. Travellers scheduled to fly through Toronto, Montreal, Bogota, Paris or Amsterdam were strongly encouraged to monitor their flight status frequently, sign up for airline notifications and, where possible, build additional buffer time into connections, especially when traveling on separate tickets or between different carriers.

Experts recommended that passengers impacted by cancellations or long delays move quickly to secure rebooking options, as seats on alternative flights can disappear rapidly during large scale disruptions. Seeking assistance through multiple channels, including airline apps, websites and customer service phone lines, in parallel with queueing at airport counters can sometimes yield faster results. Those whose trips are time sensitive may also wish to explore rerouting via alternative hubs or accepting different nearby airports if airlines make such options available.

For now, thousands of travellers remain scattered across terminals from Canada to Europe and South America, improvising makeshift camps with neck pillows and carry on bags while they wait for their journeys to resume. As Porter Airlines, Avianca and Air France work to untangle their schedules and reposition aircraft and crews, the day has become a sobering reminder of how quickly modern air travel can be upended when weather, infrastructure and operational constraints collide across multiple continents at once.