Nearly 25 per cent of Toronto Pearson flights cancelled amid winter storm

Nearly a quarter of all flights at Pearson Airport Friday have been cancelled as Toronto braces for what could be the biggest snowstorm of the season.

Environment Canada issued a winter storm warning early Friday morning, forecasting up to 30 cm of snow and high winds for Toronto beginning in the evening.

Pearson alerted travellers on Twitter earlier on Friday to “be careful” as the snow dumps on southern Ontario, warning of the “poor road conditions and visibility.”

“As always, check your flight status with your airline before leaving for the airport,” the airport tweeted.

WestJet has pre-emptively made the call to cancel all of its scheduled flights in and out of Pearson, from 8 p.m. Friday night onwards, noting these cancellations could carry through until morning pending the weather conditions.

 

Due to a major winter storm warning targeting southern Ontario, WestJet has proactively cancelled all scheduled flights operating to and from @TorontoPearson as of 8:00 p.m. EST this evening, until Saturday morning, pending conditions. https://t.co/iaThCry218

— WestJet News (@WestJetNews) March 3, 2023

Meanwhile, Air Canada advised its passengers to check their flight status online before making their way to the airport.

“A travel advisory is in effect permitting customers to make flight changes,” the airline tweeted.

As of 7 p.m., roughly 23 per cent of all 478 scheduled departures out of the airport have been cancelled, while nearly 25 per cent of the 467 arriving flights have been cancelled.

Billy Bishop Airport is also warning travellers of the winter weather’s potential impact on its operations out of downtown Toronto, as many of its departing flights from around 7:30 p.m. onwards have already been cancelled.