So far, the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 8 fleet in Canada hasn’t affected things at Winnipeg’s James Richardson International Airport.
Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced Wednesday that Canada would join numerous countries worldwide in suspending use of the Boeing 737 Max 8 in the wake of the deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash.
Winnipeg Airports Authority spokesman Tyler MacAffee told 680 CJOB Thursday that the city doesn’t see many of those particular planes.
“We see about 50 of these aircraft in a month,” said MacAffee.
“To give you a sense, it’s about one or two per cent of the total number of passenger aircraft we see, so the Max itself isn’t having a huge impact at the airport as far as travel.”
He said there may be some ripple effect in the days ahead as airlines figure out how to reschedule things, and that travellers should always double check their flights before heading to the airport.
“The airlines are going to look and see where they can pick up some of that traffic, and they’re going to move their fleet around to adjust, and that’s where we’re going to see the ripple effect,” said MacAffee.
“I think the airlines recognize that Winnipeg is a market that has really strong service levels, so I’m not anticipating we’ll see a major impact.”
One of the planes in question landed in the city late Wednesday morning. MacAffee said it’ll sit in Winnipeg – although he’s not sure exactly where – until the ban is lifted.
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