(Montreal) Transat AT cancels nearly 30% of its winter flights as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to thwart the airline industry’s plans.
The tour operator said Thursday that the impact of the Omicron variant and the Dec. 15 recommendation by the federal government to avoid essential travel sparked a wave of trip cancellations.
A reduced flight schedule is now in place for the period from Thursday to February 25, but Transat said further changes may be necessary.
The Montreal-based company, which did not specify which flights were affected, said travelers would be fully reimbursed. When possible, they will be offered date changes for their reservation.
WestJet Airlines has already cut its flight schedule by 15% until the end of January, citing the high proportion of its flight crews who have had to take time off work because they were infected with COVID-19.
The airline industry, which has started to recover after a devastating first year of a pandemic, is once again struggling with the resurgence of COVID-19 cases. Air Canada has canceled hundreds of flights so far in January, and US carriers are canceling thousands.