Passengers connecting through Toronto Pearson International Airport faced a fresh round of disruption on 22 February 2026 as a mix of residual snow, de-icing backlogs and crew duty-time limits forced airlines to delay dozens of flights. Independent aviation site TheTraveler.org reported stacked delays building from the early-morning bank, with off-schedule inbound aircraft preventing on-time departures throughout the day.
Although no single weather event matched the 7-8 February snowstorm, intermittent flurries and freezing drizzle slowed ground operations, cutting hourly runway capacity just enough to create bottlenecks. Airlines also cited crew shortages, with several rotations bumping up against Transport Canada duty-time rules once early flights slipped.
![Winter weather and crew limits trigger day-long cascading delays at Toronto Pearson]()
Should those schedule changes force travellers to reroute through new transit points, VisaHQ’s portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) can instantly flag any additional visa or eTA requirements and expedite the application process, ensuring passengers don’t encounter documentation surprises on top of weather delays.
By late afternoon, airport data showed average departure delays of 68 minutes and at least 17 cancellations, affecting services to Vancouver, New York, London and Delhi. Air Canada offered free rebooking within seven days, while WestJet encouraged travellers to use its self-service tools to avoid phone-line queues.
For global mobility programs, the episode is a reminder to build buffer time into itineraries during Canada’s winter season and to brief relocating employees on airline rebooking apps. Firms with time-critical cargo in belly-hold should monitor ground-handling alerts, as backlogs can spill into freight networks overnight.
Although no single weather event matched the 7-8 February snowstorm, intermittent flurries and freezing drizzle slowed ground operations, cutting hourly runway capacity just enough to create bottlenecks. Airlines also cited crew shortages, with several rotations bumping up against Transport Canada duty-time rules once early flights slipped.
Should those schedule changes force travellers to reroute through new transit points, VisaHQ’s portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) can instantly flag any additional visa or eTA requirements and expedite the application process, ensuring passengers don’t encounter documentation surprises on top of weather delays.
By late afternoon, airport data showed average departure delays of 68 minutes and at least 17 cancellations, affecting services to Vancouver, New York, London and Delhi. Air Canada offered free rebooking within seven days, while WestJet encouraged travellers to use its self-service tools to avoid phone-line queues.
For global mobility programs, the episode is a reminder to build buffer time into itineraries during Canada’s winter season and to brief relocating employees on airline rebooking apps. Firms with time-critical cargo in belly-hold should monitor ground-handling alerts, as backlogs can spill into freight networks overnight.
