Post-tropical storm Claudette flight cancellations plague travellers
Fog and rain made for anothermessy day at St. John's International Airport Wednesday, as several flights in and out of St. John's werecancelled.
Stranded passengers were bused to Gander in order to fly out of the province. Many people who had to wait several hours to get on a bus wereworried about whethera flight would be availableonce they arrived.
"I'm not impressed by Air Canada and the lack of communication," said David Abrams, a frustrated passenger.
"They should have just cancelled all the flights, put everyone up overnight, and then leave tomorrow."
Air Canada handing out crackers and pretzels to passengers waiting for the bus to Gander. #cbcnl pic.twitter.com/BfMdLJpfc6
—@CStokescbc
Some people who flew from Gander to St. John'shad to backtrack toGander.
However,passengers like Mark Richardson were not bothered by the change in plans.
"This means we get to see more of Newfoundland than we expected, and what's wrong with that?" he said.
Several flights to St. John's were also diverted to Gander.Some passengers spent almost $400 for a taxi from Gander to the capital city.
Due to construction this summer, the airport's primary runway is closed and the secondary runway has lower capabilities during low-visibility weather.
As part of a major upgrade, the airport authority isinstalling a new runway system, which it says will allow 700 more flights to operate on schedule in 2016, regardless of fog.
Passengers telling me they expected bus to arrive an hour ago. Patience is wearing thin. #cbcnl pic.twitter.com/KQISTddF7L
—@CStokescbc
Nice gesture at #YYT. Air Canada employee offered her coat to this chilly traveller waiting for the bus. #cbcnl pic.twitter.com/5zsbH4yQu1
—@CStokescbc
Rainfall totals from Wednesday morning ranged from 10 to 20 mm.