Summary WestJet to continue canceling flights due to hailstorm damage on August 5th. Over 600 flights canceled and 20,000 customers affected so far. Repairing damaged aircraft will take time as specialized equipment and materials are sourced.
WestJet has provided an update on its efforts to repair more than a dozen of its aircraft damaged during a severe hailstorm earlier this month. The storm has grounded over 10% of the airline's fleet and forced the cancelation of over 600 flights since August 6th. WestJet flight cancelations to continue According to the airline, it will continue " issuing proactive cancelations for the foreseeable future " as it works to repair 16 Boeing 737 aircraft damaged during the hailstorm at Calgary International Airport (YYC) on the evening of August 5th.
As the airline's primary hub, it had a lot of aircraft stationed on the ground in Calgary at the time of the storm, leaving it more heavily affected than other Canadian carriers. Diederik Pen, President of WestJet Airlines and Chief Operating Officer of WestJet Group, commented, "Our dedicated Tech Ops teams have traveled from across our network to Calgary and Toronto, where they are working around the clock to return our fleet to its full capacity." The day after the hailstorm, WestJet canceled over 100 flights scheduled to depart or arrive in Calgary and has since averaged around 50 cancelations per day as its capacity takes a significant hit.
Overall cancelations have now exceeded 600 flights .