What you need to know about cancelled, delayed flights in Regina

With winter storms affecting flights across the country, Canadian travellers are dealing with delays and cancellations on some of the busiest air travel days of the year.

WestJet and Air Canada have been forced to cancel more than 1,000 flights across the country over the past few days, due to the wild weather.

Here’s what you need to know about possible delays and cancellations flying in and out of the Regina International Airport.

James Bogusz, the president and CEO of the Regina Airport Authority, said the airport is seeing a 30 per cent flight cancellation rate this week, with a 50 per cent delay rate.

“But if your flight has been cancelled and your flight needs to be re-accommodated. The airlines right now are struggling right across Canada to keep up,” Bogusz said, in a video posted to Twitter.

Bogusz said the airport is “all hands on deck,” but the challenges created by winter weather is affecting airlines’ ability to rebook flights.

“With the capacity challenges the airlines are having, we want you to understand that some accommodations are just not occurring before Christmas,” Bogusz said.

Each airline with flights in and out of Regina – WestJet, Air Canada and Sunwing – have different instructions for passengers whose flights have been affected. As the airlines work to get passengers rebooked, Bogusz asked for patience and understanding.

“When the planes unfortunately don’t arrive to Regina and the flights are cancelled departing Regina, you’re bound to be frustrated,” he said.

“I just ask for your understanding, and remember the agents who are serving you and the staff here at the airport are all trying their best.

WESTJET

In a statement posted online, WestJet apologized to guests affected by cancellations and delays, but said there is “very limited” re-accommodation availability, due to high demand for travel.

For anyone with confirmed travel before Dec. 26 and would like to proactively cancel, they can do so via a refund form.

“Any guest who proactively cancels their flight will receive a full refund to original form of payment. Additionally, enhanced flexible change and cancel policies remain in place between now and January 8, 2023, provided changes are actioned before December 26,” WestJet said.

More information from WestJet can be found on its website.

AIR CANADA

Air Canada implemented a policy to allow customers to make voluntary changes to their itinerary.

“Due to the current weather event in Vancouver (YVR), we understand that you may want to make alternate travel arrangements,” Air Canada said in a statement on its website.

Those changes can be made by anyone travelling between Dec. 20 and 25 who purchased a ticket before Dec. 19, or if your itinerary includes a flight to, from or via Vancouver.

“If you are scheduled to travel during the affected period, you can retrieve your booking to change your flight up to two hours before departure, free of charge, to another date between now and December 31, 2022, subject to availability in the cabin you originally purchased on your Air Canada flight,” the airline said.

More information can be found here.

SUNWING

Sunwing announced cancellations of all southbound departures from Vancouver between Dec. 22 and 25, in a travel alert Thursday.

It said customers with cancelled flights will receive a full refund.

In an update Wednesday, Sunwing noted that a number of northbound and southbound flights were being impacted by delays.

Affected customers, traveling up to and including Dec. 24, can cancel their flight or vacation and receiving a full refund to their original form of payment.

Customers may also make a one-time change to their itinerary, for revised travel dates up to March 30, 2023. The normal fee for changes will be waived.

“Those customers who would prefer to travel as planned are encouraged to sign up for flight alerts on Sunwing.ca for the most up-to-date information on travel times, but further delays should be expected as we contend with significant winter weather events across several gateways,” Sunwing said.

LOST BAGGAGE

Each airline has its own process for dealing with lost baggage.

“In the event your baggage does not arrive when you arrive to Regina, one of the first things you need to do is make sure you let the airline know using your baggage ID, which you would have received when you had your boarding pass printed,” Bogusz said.

“The sooner you can log that you’ve lost a bag, the faster they’ll hopefully be able to find it for you.”

Each airline’s lost baggage page can be found below:

• WestJet

• Air Canada

• SunWing

“Nobody wants this to be happening right now, but this weather has been unprecedented. Very challenging, especially on the west here in Canada,” Bogusz said.

“Calgary and Vancouver, which are two major connections for Regina, have just been hammered, and as a result of that we’re seeing a massive cascade effect.”