airlines/air-canada.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow”>Air Canada has confirmed that airport systems, check-in and customer call centers are back online following a nationwide outage Monday.
We can confirm airport systems, check-in & customer call centres are now all back online. We’re expecting some flight delays but we’re getting everyone on their way. Please check your flight status before going to the airport. We thank customers for their patience
— Air Canada (@AirCanada) March 12, 2018
The outage led to unusually long queues at airports in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, among other places. According to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, Air Canada was experiencing nearly 170 total flight delays as of Monday afternoon.
Some travelers took to social media to complain of crowded lines and long waits while others praised airline employees for how they handled the disruption.
Of all the days to travel… but kudos to @AirCanada staff at #YUL for keeping things moving as much as possible… and to passengers for maintaining civility. System finally back up = light at end of tunnel#aircanada pic.twitter.com/qC8961AcUA
— Erik Lind (@erik_mtl) March 12, 2018
My first hand written boarding pass ever (at least that I remember). Air Canada’s systems are down for the last 90 minutes so expect cascading flight delays today #aircanada #travel #canada pic.twitter.com/aMBxiwpuie
— Jim Harris (@JimHarris) March 12, 2018
Air Canada said the temporary interruption affected customer contact centers and AirCanada.com. The carrier apologized for the inconvenience and resolved the issue in a couple of hours.
We’re currently experiencing an interruption at our customer Contact Centres and https://t.co/9y0kvWG2OP. We apologize for any inconvenience and are working towards restoring our service as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.
— Air Canada (@AirCanada) March 12, 2018
IT system outages are not uncommon in the airline industry, with British Airways and Southwest Airlines suffering airlines/british-airways-cancels-hundreds-of-flights.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow”>crippling disruptions of late.
Earlier this month, Air Canada announced that it would double the frequency of its flights from Western Canada to Hawaii while flights from Western Canada to Honolulu, Maui, Kona and other popular destinations will feature Air Canada’s new 737 MAX aircraft.
The carrier launched seasonal direct service between Phoenix and Montreal last month.