Air Canada said it will be cutting dozens of daily flights this summer as the airline tries to keep up with soaring demand for travel.
The changes would see Air Canada reduce its schedule by 77 round trips — on average, each day — during the months of July and August 2022. Most flights affected will be out of Toronto and Montreal.
After a year in Calgary as an exchange student, Esther Lucas said she wants to go back home, yet her flight was cancelled. Which in turn, added a whole lot of unwanted days onto her foreign experience.
“I was supposed to move back to France today but my flight is delayed so I missed the connection and can’t fly back home right now,” Lucas told Global News.
Amy Stevens, who hosts foreign exchange students echoes Lucas’ frustration as she sees first-hand how frustrating it can be for stranded students.
“Leaving Canada is scary. They don’t have parents here,” Stevens said.
“We are hoping she gets from Montreal to Rome. Her flight has already been changed twice since we booked.”
Meanwhile, Rochelle Hujber has planned to take her first flight since the pandemic and hopes it will go ahead as planned. Though she admitted she is reluctant to book this summer.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a good thing for anybody this summer as much as everyone is travelling again,” Hujber said.
As of Thursday, Air Canada’s flight reductions will result in more than 9,500 flights, or 154 per day on average, dropped from the airline’s schedule.