With a winter storm warning in effect for the central Okanagan, the Kelowna International Airport is seeing widespread delays and cancellations.
Some flights to Vancouver, Edmonton, and Toronto were cancelled while others were delayed.
There were cancellations and delays on the arrivals side as well.
As of early in the afternoon Tuesday, eight flights has been cancelled. That’s 16 arrivals and departures.
“I want to get home for Christmas,” said Penticton resident Cathy Buhler who was trying to fly to Saskatoon. “I have a whole day planned with my daughter tomorrow baking all our favourite Christmas treats. Then we’re going to do some shopping in the evening so I really want to get home.”
The airport said the flights have been grounded due to a combination of factors including inclement weather on the coast and low visibility at YLW.
“The airport itself is open. The runway, despite the snow that we are having, is in good condition to accept aircraft. Each flight or crew will do their assessments as they make their approaches into Kelowna to see if they can accept the runway based on the aircraft and the aircraft’s capabilities,” said Sam Samaddar, airport director.
“It is really going to be a moment-by-moment assessment as each flight comes in and out of this area.”
The airport is expected to be a busy place this week with up to 5,000 passengers flying into or out of the airport on peak days.
YLW expects Friday, Saturday, Dec. 26 and Dec. 27 to be the peak days for holiday travel.
The airport is advising passengers check their flight status online before arriving at the airport and on the flight information display screens at the airport.
Up to 25 centimetres of snow is expected to fall in the Kelowna area over the next 24 hours.