Canadian North says flights to and from Yellowknife on Saturday are being disrupted by an ash cloud produced by a Russian volcano earlier in the week.
The Shiveluch volcano began erupting on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula on Tuesday. Ash from that eruption has subsequently drifted across North America.
Air Canada reported some cancellations of services across British Columbia on Thursday and Friday. Similar flight disruption has been reported in areas of the United States.
On Saturday morning, Canadian North said it was monitoring a “massive ash cloud” that had caused poor visibility and cancelled dozens of flights, “including many of our flights.”
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Flight tracking websites FlightRadar24 and FlightStats each showed multiple Canadian North cancellations and delays on Saturday involving Yellowknife flights.
For example, the airline’s flight from Cambridge Bay to Yellowknife was showing a five-hour delay as of 10:30am on Saturday, while a flight to Calgary was cancelled and another service to Edmonton delayed by at least 90 minutes.
There appeared to be minimal disruption to most other services to and from the city.
“We apologize for the disruption but your safety is our first priority,” Canadian North stated on Twitter.
“We encourage all passengers to regularly check their emails for an updated itinerary and for information on their rebooking if your flight is canceled. Thank you for your patience and understanding as our team works to rebook all passengers on later flights when weather conditions have improved.”
