Victoria International Airport resumed more regular operations on Wednesday afternoon, as runways were cleared along with backlogs due to poor weather at other locations, although the morning saw several flight delays and cancellations.
The main runway is now fully cleared and able to handle all flights coming in and out of the airport, Rod Hunchak, YYJ director of business development and community relations, said Wednesday afternoon.
The question now is what Thursday will hold, since it was predicted to be the busiest holiday-season day at the airport, with 5,500 to 6,000 people passing through, Hunchak said.
Airport clearing crews, who have been working 24-seven shifts to keep the main runway clear, were scheduled to work overnight Wednesday.
“We have some snowfall predicted Thursday night into Friday so they will be on then and they will be on the 24-hour shifts until the weather event is over,” Hunchak said.
Vancouver International Airport, the source of a large amount of connecting traffic with Victoria, has faced an avalanche of snow-related delays and cancellations, which has had a substantial impact on Victoria, Hunchak said.
“That’s probably the major impact, as well as the weather conditions, here,” he said. “I think any airport that experienced the kind of snowfall that Victoria and Vancouver had would be in a similar situation.”
Calgary and Edmonton airports are also dealing with frigid temperatures and delays, he said, noting Victoria sees quite a few connections with Calgary, and delays can affect flights down the line.
“We are sort of at the end of the line sometimes as far as the plane goes.”
