Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Tues. January 6th, 2026

Canada is loosening its restrictions on the number of flights coming from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. However, while the uptick in business and competition might be seen as good news for some, others say that Canada’s passenger experience is getting worse. Today’s QOTD takes us on a WestJet flight out of Edmonton, where limited leg space is pushing a passenger’s patience to the limit. Here in Canada, we don’t have legislation that governs how much leg room passengers should have access to. And in an effort to pack more passengers onto flights, a lot of airlines are trimming back on space already. So where do we find a happy medium here? We kickstart today’s conversation with John Gradek, an aviation management expert at McGill University. But first, we bring you up to speed on today’s top headlines.