Photo: Contributed
At Kelowna Airport, there are delays due to strong winds and smoke.
Several flights have been canceled or delayed at Kelowna International Airport since Sunday.
“The wind has picked up speed again leading to some cancellations,” said Shayne Dyrdal, senior airport finance and corporate services manager.
“Every airline has different types of aircraft with different equipment on these aircraft. Combined with airline safety guidelines, it determines when it is safe for certain aircraft to land at the airport. Because of this, in the current weather conditions, some planes may be able to land and others may not, ”Dyrdal said.
The wind was blowing constantly in the vicinity of 35 km / h and reached up to 45 km / h on Monday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. in YLW.
Dyrdal said it wasn’t necessarily airline specific, but based on the aircraft.
“We encourage passengers to check their flight status before going to YLW as there may still be flight delays and / or cancellations due to weather conditions and forest fires in the area.”
She admits that this could currently exacerbate the housing crisis in the Kelowna area.
“I would hope they can find shelter, but you’re right, housing is really hard to come by right now,” said Dyrdal.
She hopes the wind will ease soon so the flights can get going again.
WestJet, meanwhile, says they’ve seen at least one cancellation due to smoke lately.
“Due to smoke development in the Kelowna Valley, WestJet Flight 3324, which arrived at Kelowna International Airport (YLW) from Vancouver International Airport (YVR), was unable to land and returned safely to YVR. Several flights were then canceled and some were delayed due to the weather until we were able to guarantee the safe arrival of the flights arriving at the YLW “, the airline announced on Monday.
“We value the patience and understanding of our guests as we continue to monitor and evaluate the rapidly evolving weather conditions in the Okanagan area to ensure that we give priority to both our guests and the safety of our WestJetters.”
In recent months, heavy smoke from forest fires has been blamed for several days of canceled flights over Kelowna International Airport and other airports in the area.
Photo: Contributed
Cancellations of departures at Kelowna International Airport
