Wildfires and smoky skies in the Okanagan have been affecting flights at Kelowna International Airport.
James Hall, senior manager of operations and sustainability, said restrictions have been in place for a number of days, with Saturday becoming the worst as the Bald Range wildfire rapidly grew into the Summerland area.
Hall said firefighting activity north and south of the airport, combined with poor visibility, affected airline operations.
“Yesterday, we were down to just airlines being able to operate visually, and each carrier has different thresholds as far as what they’ll operate under, and with the smoke and kind of coming in and out, we had a number of cancellations because we didn’t really have the visual ranges they needed, and today we’re in a similar situation.”
Hall said about 16 arrivals and departures had been cancelled as of Sunday evening, with conditions changing quickly based on visibility.
He encouraged travellers to check with their airline for the most up-to-date flight information before heading to the airport.
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