Flight cancellations and delays continue as Delta, United, and American Airlines experience technical issue

Alaska Airlines is still awaiting instructions from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding the grounding of its fleet of 65 Max 9s [17655c4e]. As a result, none of the Max 9s are currently carrying passengers, leading to the cancellation of between 110 and 150 flights per day [17655c4e]. This has affected over 15,000 travelers who need to be rebooked each day [17655c4e]. Travelers are advised to be flexible and have travel insurance to cover any canceled flights [17655c4e]. Despite the Max 9 grounding, there are still affordable fares available for travel to Europe, with round-trip flights to Barcelona, Madrid, and London priced at $450-$500 [17655c4e]. However, fares to other destinations in Europe are higher [17655c4e]. For travelers heading to Australia, round-trip fares between $819 and $842 are available [17655c4e]. Additionally, nonstop flight options for the summer include routes such as Anchorage-Minneapolis, Anchorage-Chicago, Anchorage-Detroit, Anchorage-New York/JFK, and Anchorage-Washington, D.C./Dulles, with Alaska Airlines, Delta, United, and American Airlines among the carriers offering these flights [17655c4e].

Air Canada is responding to the shutdown of Lynx Air by adding extra flights on select routes and capping fares for affected passengers [f01d2700]. The shutdown of Lynx Air comes just weeks before the busy Spring Break travel period, and Air Canada aims to accommodate passengers who were planning to fly with Lynx Air. The airline will add more frequencies in several markets to accommodate the affected passengers, with a few thousand seats being added on select routes that Lynx operates [f01d2700]. The fares for these flights will be capped, and availability will be in the economy cabin [f01d2700]. The specific routes where capacity will be boosted include Toronto and Montreal to Cancun, Fort Meyers, Orlando, and Tampa [f01d2700]. However, Air Canada warns that any additional flights are limited [f01d2700].

Travelers who had flights booked with Lynx Air from February 26th onwards will be able to receive a refund, but they will have to go through their credit card company [f01d2700]. Air Canada also recommends that impacted passengers consult the Canadian Transportation Agency for assistance [f01d2700].

The last Lynx Air flight leaves Calgary International Airport on Sunday, February 25, 2024. Lynx Air flights were expected to continue operating as usual through Sunday, but both a flight from Calgary to Las Vegas and to Vancouver were listed as cancelled. Calgary-based low-cost airline Lynx Air announced it would cease operations last week, citing financial pressures as one of the causes. Lynx Air faced compounding financial difficulties due to high inflation, fuel, capital, and regulatory costs, as well as adverse exchange rates and competitive tension in the Canadian market. Despite substantial growth and efforts to explore a sale or merger, the challenges facing the company's business became too significant to overcome. Passengers with existing bookings have been advised to contact their credit card company for refunds. [7ee4b739]

Thousands of Metro Vancouver travellers are stranded in destinations worldwide over the Canada Day long weekend due to WestJet flight cancellations caused by an unexpected strike [36e6d8b0]. WestJet's mechanic's union members walked off the job on June 29, accusing the airline of shutting down negotiations [36e6d8b0]. The federal government issued a ministerial order for binding arbitration on June 27, following two weeks of turbulent discussions with the union [36e6d8b0]. WestJet preemptively cancelled 25 flights ahead of the long weekend and cancelled an additional 150 on June 28 and 235 on June 29 [36e6d8b0]. The cancellations have impacted over 53,000 travellers [36e6d8b0]. A Vancouver-based travel blogger, La Carmina, is currently stranded in Los Cabos after her WestJet flight home was cancelled [36e6d8b0]. She had previously experienced a flight cancellation due to a WestJet strike in 2023 [36e6d8b0]. Many travellers are expressing frustration and concern over the lack of advanced notice for flight cancellations and the difficulty of finding alternative flights [36e6d8b0]. Some believe that WestJet should pay their mechanics more to avoid further disruptions [36e6d8b0]. Flair Airlines, another Canadian airline, is monitoring the WestJet strike and offering assistance to stranded passengers. They have seen a surge in bookings as a result [36e6d8b0].

Microsoft's Azure cloud services outage caused disruptions and flight cancellations for low-cost carriers Frontier Airlines, Allegiant, and Sun Country. The outage started at 6pm Eastern Time on Thursday and affected multiple Azure services in the Central US region. Frontier cancelled 147 flights and delayed 212 others, while Allegiant and Sun Country experienced delays on 45% and 23% of their flights, respectively. Microsoft resolved the outage and normal operations resumed for the airlines. US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg stated that the agency will hold the airlines accountable for meeting the needs of passengers.

Delta, United, and American Airlines grounded flights due to a technical issue with their computer systems used for flight planning and dispatch [5892c744]. The grounding affected hundreds of flights and caused delays and cancellations [5892c744]. The issue was resolved after a few hours and flights resumed [5892c744]. The exact cause of the technical issue was not disclosed [5892c744]. Delta, United, and American Airlines are major US airlines [5892c744].