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South Okanagan Photos

Flights drop at Penticton – Air Canada – Flights to India curtailed

MP Richard Cannings is very disappointed Air Canada has followed its exciting announcement about the use of new Q400 aircraft on the Penticton-Vancouver route with a significant schedule change that will profoundly affect passengers using the Penticton airport.

Air Canada’s initial announcement suggested that one flight per day would be dropped, as the new planes are much larger and that even with the lost flight, more seats would be available on a daily basis.

“To my dismay, they chose to drop the late-night flight, which arrives in Penticton around 11 pm departs the following morning around 6 a.m.,” said Cannings. “These flights are always full and are essential to many travelers, including business people travelling to Vancouver for meetings and vacation travelers connecting to flights in Vancouver.”

Under the new schedule, as of May 1 travelers will not be able to leave for Vancouver until 9:35 a.m. and must return from Vancouver no later than 6 p.m.

“I am concerned that this change will result in a decrease in passenger traffic to and from Penticton rather than the increase forecast in the Q400 announcement. I believe that many people in the south Okanagan will be forced to use the Kelowna airport instead of Penticton to make their Vancouver connections and meetings. I have expressed my concerns to Air Canada and hope that they will reverse this decision,” concluded Cannings.

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After the sudden cancellation of multiple flights between Toronto and Delhi, some travellers and their families are scrambling to figure out what to do next. On Thursday, Air Canada announced its flights from Toronto and Vancouver to Delhi are back on their normal schedules, but some travellers are still struggling to rebook.

The Pakistani government closed the country’s airspace on Wednesday amid rising tensions with India, forcing many airlines, including Air Canada, to reroute flights “Canadians should know that Air Canada was advised not to fly over certain airspaces, and therefore cancelled its flight to New Delhi,” federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau said.

“Until further notice I would encourage people to check with the Air Canada website if they’ve got plans to go to India, as well as travel advisories,” he added.