YPR bound flights re-directed to Terrace airport

Air Canada flights destined for Prince Rupert's Digby Island airport in recent days have been charting a more easterly course, redirected to the Terrace airport with ground related operational issues at YPR apparently the main cause for the change of flight planning.

Yesterday's flight schedule for the Prince Rupert airport shows the course of the day's redirections and delays, an ongoing issue that for the most part has been the normal process in place since August 29th.

Using the Flightaware tracking program, you can follow the path of yesterday's Air Canada's morning flight 8278 destined for Prince Rupert, that flight left Vancouver at 9:24 and set its course for the Terrace airport, with an arrival time listed as at 12:33 PM.

While that flight was moving north, Air Canada appears to have shifted one of its planes from the Terrace Airport to Prince Rupert, with Flight Aware listing that Flight 8278 as leaving Terrace at 12:07 and arriving in Prince Rupert at 12:33 PM. Where the southbound journey apparently begins.

All of the shifting and shuttling over the last five days appears to have been taking a toll on the regular departure times from and to Vancouver, with the journey to the south significantly delayed from the original time of departure.

Yesterday's southbound schedule to Vancouver was close to 90 minutes behind its regular departure time of 11:25, listed as arriving in Vancouver at 2:48 PM

While Delayed flights continue to be an issue into the mid-week period, with Air Canada noting that the morning flight today to Prince Rupert, (which may or may not actually end up in Terrace), has been delayed at least 70 minutes.

The Prince Rupert Airport Authority has not posted any advisories to their website as of yet, providing for an explanation of the problems or how many flights from airlines serving the Prince Rupert airport have been affected by the ongoing situation.

As well, there to this point is no indication as to how long they anticipate the current arrangement will remain in place and if the lengthy delays will continue to be a concern for Rupert passengers to work with.

For more on air travel notes and issues of the Northwest see our archive page here.

Update: YPR officials have reportedly outlined that the situation, which involved a fuel truck has been resolved, with a replacement truck brought in from Haida Gwaii. Flights are reported to have returned to their regular schedule.