Air Canada tweeted this morning that it is experiencing an IT issue causing widespread flight delays.
This is the second time in a week that the airline’s flights have been delayed. Last Thursday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a “ground stop” for all Air Canada and Rouge flights in the U.S, due to unspecified “internal computer issues.”
Later, Air Canada clarified that the issue was with its communicator system, which, again, seems to be the culprit this time.
In a statement to CTV, the airline said it’s experiencing a “temporary technical issue” with the system it uses to communicate with aircraft and monitor the performance of its operations.
The Montreal-based company said it continues to operate flights at a reduced rate while dealing with the delays.
According to FlightAware.com, Air Canada cancelled 15 flights on Thursday, and 106 have experienced some sort of delay.
A Canadian federal government source familiar with the matter told CBC news in a statement that “there is no reason to believe this is a cybersecurity incident.”
Air Canada is advising customers to check the status of their flight before going to the airport.
In its latest update, Air Canada said that operations are stabilizing and flights are departing. However, delays are expected to last throughout the day, Air Canada said in an emailed statement to the Star.
The airline also revealed that it was in the process of upgrading the communicator system using technology from a third party and that it continues to work with the manufacturer to “ensure stability in the system in the future.”
The airline apologized for the impact on customers and stated that a flexible policy is in place to change travel plans.
Updated- 3.51PM 6/1/2023 with latest update
Ashee is a writer for ITWC. She completed her degree in Communication and Media Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa. She hopes to become a columnist after further studies in Journalism. You can email her at [email protected]
