Saskatchewan weather hampering flights: ‘Pack that extra little bit of patience’

Saskatchewan travelers are finding themselves stranded as airlines are delaying and cancelling flights due to the extreme weather.

“You just have to pack that extra little bit of patience,” said Ixtapa travel agent Barb Crowe.

As of three p.m. Wednesday, 13 flights have been cancelled or delayed at the Saskatoon Airport.

Temperatures have dipped into the -30s across the province hindering air travel during the busiest season of the year. Some flyers are brave enough to demand accommodations for the delays.

“When it’s a weather-related situation like we’re seeing this week, it’s really not the airline’s responsibility to put you up in a hotel or give you food vouchers,” said Crowe. “If you get any of that, that’s a bonus.”

For travel troubles that are not weather-related, passengers can prepare by documenting the entirety of their travel proceedings, said Air Passenger Rights President Gabor Lukacs.

“Take pictures, take audio recordings, video recordings of your surroundings, of what is being posted on the boards, and what announcements are being made,” he said.

1:27 Flight cancellations leave many Saskatchewan residents grounded for the holidays

Agents and airport employees are working as hard as they can to help passengers rebook if necessary and get them to their destination as close to their original arrival as possible.

Crowe said that their customs lines are being slightly delayed as well due to passengers attempting to take holiday gifts along on their flight.

“I always suggest to people that you don’t wrap your gift. Take your wrapping paper and your scotch tape with you because if you’re going through the X-ray machines, whether it’s in your suitcase or whether it’s in your check-in or your carry-on bag, if we can’t really figure out what it is, then you’re going to have to unwrap it. I suggest don’t even wrap it,” Crowe said.