Major winter storm causing delays, anxiety for Ottawa travellers
Anxiety is high for people trying to get home or to family gatherings in time for Christmas due to the massive winter storm in the region.
For three days, Candace and Pete Stothart have been trying to get to Vancouver for the holidays.
“This past Tuesday, the flight was cancelled and the earliest they could do was get us on a flight Thursday," Candace Stothart said. "So finally we are leaving today, the one ticket they could find for us."
A winter storm on the west coast cancelled their first flight.
“I think this is the third time that we have tried to check them in for their flight to Vancouver,” said Tonja Stothart, the couple’s daughter.
Now another storm is about to barrel down on Ottawa and their window to get off the ground is closing.
“We are hoping that we will not be stopped again because we are watching the storm coming in again, and we will see,” said Candace.
On one of the busiest travel days of the year, thousands are trying to get out ahead of the storm.
“This is the lineup and it’s the only airline open it looks like, but it’s not bad. It is what it is. Hopefully we get out before the storm really gets bad,” said Connie Dooks, who is going to Florida.
Cassie Ferri’s original flight to Boston was on Friday, but she rescheduled to Thursday because of the storm.
“There was a cost involved and I think it was $140 so that was difficult, but I just want to get out,” said Ferri.
Officials recommend keeping an eye on your flight status ahead of leaving for the airport.
“Check with their carrier to make sure they have the most up-to-date information concerning their flight and then build in that time when you do ultimately leave for the airport because the roads might be a mess and there may be line ups,” said Krista Kealey, Ottawa Airport’s Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs.
As of late Thursday afternoon, the airport's departures page showed about two dozen delays and cancellations.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Feds 'not interested' in investing in LNG facilities: energy minister
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is 'not interested' in subsidizing future liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, including the electrification of projects currently in the works.
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
Aerial photos show wide devastation left by tornado in China's Guangzhou
Aerial photos posted by Chinese state media on Sunday showed the wide devastation of a part of the southern city of Guangzhou after a tornado swept through the day before, killing five people, injuring dozens others and damaging over a hundred buildings.
Health minister 'deeply appreciative' of doctors but capital gains changes here to stay
Health Minister Mark Holland says while he is 'deeply appreciative' of the work doctors in Canada do, the federal government has no plans to scrap the proposed capital gains tax changes outlined in the latest budget, despite opposition from the Canadian Medical Association.
A top Qatari official urges Israel and Hamas to do more to reach a ceasefire deal
A senior Qatari official has urged both Israel and Hamas to show "more commitment and more seriousness" in ceasefire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds on both sides to move toward a deal that would set Israeli hostages free and bring potential respite in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
What Trudeau's podcast appearances say about the Liberals' next ballot box question
Trudeau recently appeared on four podcasts as he travels the country talking up the Liberals' latest budget, which he's pitching as a plan to inject more economic fairness into society for those under 40 — a cohort that has kept Trudeau in power since 2015 but is increasingly turning to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Russian drones set a hotel ablaze in a Ukrainian Black Sea city
Russian drones early Sunday struck the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv, setting a hotel ablaze and damaging energy infrastructure, the local Ukrainian governor reported, while ammunition shortages continued to hobble Kyiv's troops in the more than two-year-old war.
A munitions explosion at a Cambodian army base kills 20 soldiers, but its cause is unclear
Security was tight around a military base in southwestern Cambodia on Sunday, a day after a huge explosion there killed 20 soldiers, wounded others and damaged nearby houses.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.