WestJet has returned six of its 17 damaged planes to service after last month’s hailstorm in Calgary grounded aircraft and forced hundreds of flight cancellations.
A severe hailstorm struck southern Alberta Aug. 5, resulting in severe flight disruptions after WestJet’s fleet was damaged. Restoration work is still underway a month later, according to a WestJet spokesperson. The affected planes represent more than 10 percent of the airline’s fleet.
“WestJet will continue issuing proactive cancellations for the foreseeable future as our dedicated Tech Ops teams continue to work diligently to return the remaining 11 damaged aircraft to service,” Julia Brunet told The Epoch Times in a Sept. 3 email statement.
WestJet has cancelled 676 flights to date due to the hailstorm.
Meteorologists from The Weather Network estimated that the hailstorm damaged 35,000 buildings in Calgary. They compared it to the 2020 Calgary hailstorm, which was termed the fourth costliest natural disaster in Canadian history, causing $1.2 billion in insured damage.
Western University’s Northern Hail Project noted that while both storms caused similar levels of damage, the August hailstorm was particularly destructive to Calgary International Airport.
The airport reported damage to its terminal buildings and had to evacuate passengers from certain areas during the hailstorm, according to posts on its official X account. Following an assessment, the Calgary Airport announced on Aug. 28 that one of its damaged concourses will remain closed for at least 18 months while restoration work is carried out. The airport said the cost of repairs is not yet known.
“Early investigations have shown that Concourse B, located in the Domestic Terminal Building, sustained very significant damage – initially from the golf-ball-sized hail puncturing the roof membrane, and then from the subsequent heavy rainfall entering the building,” Calgary Airport Authority chief operating officer Chris Miles said in an press release.
The airport authority said while there was some damage to other parts of the terminal, those areas have since resumed operations.
The August hailstorm brought baseball-sized hail, up to 7.5 centimetres in diameter, to Queenstown, a hamlet about 92 kilometres southeast of Calgary. Other regions experienced hail as large as tennis balls or chicken eggs, according to Environment Canada’s Aug. 6 weather summary.
The storm also brought fierce winds, with gusts reaching up to 100 kilometres per hour in Tilley, a hamlet in southern Alberta.
Jennifer Cowan contributed to this report.
