'Destructive' winter storm will disrupt flights in Canada. Will you be eligible for refund?

Much of the country is facing hazardous or severe cold weather warnings going into the weekend, as a “destructive” winter storm from the United States is expected to hit Canada.

Here’s what to know should you have air travel planned in the coming days. 

Flair Airlines told National Post its forecasters are “actively monitoring a forecasted storm on the East Coast of the U.S. and into the GTA.”

“Flair recommends checking your flight status online regularly and arriving at the airport early,” the airline said.

“Passengers whose flights may be impacted should stay home and check their emails for communications about rebooking and refund options. We will keep all passengers informed about the status of their flights and any available options.”

Porter Airlines told National Post that “winter weather may disrupt travel this weekend across the network.”

“Complimentary moves are available on many routes beginning Saturday evening until Monday; passengers are encouraged to check their flight status and manage their booking on flyporter.com,” it said.

Air Canada told National Post it was currently monitoring the situation. “As we always do, we advise customers to check before going to the airport to be sure their flight is operating on schedule,” it said.

“In anticipation there will be some impact, we are reviewing our schedule in anticipation we may be forced to cancel flights and to ensure we have aircraft and crews positioned for a faster recovery.”

The airline said there is a goodwill policy in place so travellers can change their travel plans with no change fee. “This serves the double purpose of enabling those who no longer wish to travel to make changes and it also frees up space on aircraft in the event we need to rebook customers or consolidate flights due to airport weather constraints,” the statement said.

The airline said it would be providing updates “directly to any affected customers as the storm progresses, which is why it is important customers provide us contact information.”

On its website, it says that “extreme cold is causing delays” at Toronto’s Pearson and Montreal’s Trudeau airports.

Travellers flying from those locations can change their flight at no cost , the airline says.

This applies to travellers who purchased tickets no later than Jan. 21. (For those going through Pearson, it applies to passengers who booked flights for travel between Jan. 23 and Jan. 26. For those going through Trudeau, it applies to passengers who booked flights for travel between Jan. 24 and Jan. 25).

On Friday, 12 per cent of all Air Canada flights were cancelled and there were nearly 150 flight cancellations at Pearson, according to U.K.-based air passenger rights firm SkyRefund . The firm cited the American winter storm as the likely culprit.

“Passengers should be prepared for many difficulties traveling, with the potential of being stuck at an airport for multiple days if the disruption persists. Try to familiarize yourself with your airline’s disruption policies and have a way to keep up to date with any updates they provide,” said SkyRefund CEO Ivaylo Danailov.

Air Transat and WestJet did not immediately respond to National Post’s request.

Canada’s busiest airport, Toronto’s Pearson, posted on X Friday morning saying temperatures felt like -22 degrees with the windchill. It said deicing operations for departing aircrafts were underway.

It’s a bitterly cold morning on the airfield, with temperatures at -13°C but feeling like -22°C with the windchill. Departing aircraft are moving through the Central Deicing Facility, where deicing operations are underway.Today, we’re expecting 121,212 travellers to move… pic.twitter.com/uZnDyZIFN7

— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) January 23, 2026

The airport is expecting more than 120,000 people to travel through its terminals, with approximately 60 per cent travelling through Terminal 1.

“In these extreme cold conditions, outdoor crews must take more frequent warming breaks to limit exposure. While this can slow some airfield operations, it is essential to protect the health and safety of everyone working outside,” the airport said on X.

Travellers who have planned a trip should monitor flights closely. “If a flight is cancelled for genuine weather reasons, the passenger is entitled to a choice between a refund in the original form of payment and alternate transportation,” says president of advocacy group Air Passenger Rights Gábor Lukács.

Large carriers like Air Canada, WestJet, Flair and Porter must rebook passengers on the next available flight of their own or partner airlines departing within 48 hours of the original departure time, if a flight is cancelled due to weather, Lukács said.

“If they are unable to do so, they must buy the passenger a seat on the next available flight of ANY carrier, including competitors,” he said. “The airline cannot charge the passenger for putting them in a higher class of service (e.g., business class) if those are the only available seats.”

If the airline does not, “the passenger can buy a ticket on a competitor airline, and then the original airline is liable for the passenger’s expenses caused by the failure to comply with the obligation,” he added.

Lukács advised travellers to be cautious in “distinguishing flight cancellations that are genuinely due to weather as opposed to those that the airline blames on the weather but could have been avoided with due diligence by the airline.”

According to Environment Canada, Manitoba and Saskatchewan will have windchills between -40 and -50 degrees. Meanwhile, Labrador City and Wabush, NL are expecting the same. Most of northern Ontario will get windchills of up to -48 degrees. These areas have received orange warnings, meaning “severe weather is likely to cause significant damage, disruption, or health impacts.” Orange alerts are uncommon, Environment Canada says online.

Other regions in Canada — parts of Alberta, southern Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Quebec — are under more common yellow alerts, meaning “hazardous weather may cause damage, disruption, or health impacts.”

Complicating matters, especially for travellers, is what the Weather Network is describing as a “destructive ice storm” from the U.S. with “a significant blanket of snowfall.” That storm is “forecast to intensify as it tracks south of Atlantic Canada late Sunday night,” the Weather Network said . It could also bring “significant impacts” to parts of Ontario and Quebec through Monday.

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