Three flights cancelled at EIA as feds ground Max 8s

Three flights scheduled to travel through Edmonton International Airport were cancelled Wednesday as the federal government barred Boeing 737 Max 8 planes from Canadian airways.

Three flights scheduled to fly between Edmonton and Toronto were cancelled due to the announcement. Traci Bednard, an Edmonton airport spokeswoman, said the airport had a total of 255 scheduled flights on Wednesday.

“On any given day a 737 Max represents between one and two per cent of overall flights,” said Bednard.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced the decision to close Canadian skies to the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, effectively grounding the planes over safety concerns arising from the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight that killed everyone on board, including 18 Canadians.

Three people with connections to Edmonton have been identified among those killed.

The decision to ground the planes is a precautionary move that was made after a review of all the available evidence, Garneau told a news conference Wednesday in Ottawa that was twice delayed by what he called new incoming information.

The safety notice means no Max 8 aircraft can fly into, out of, or over Canada.

Garneau said evidence about multiple Boeing 737 Max 8 flights suggests a worrying correlation between the Ethiopian Airlines crash and the tragedy in Indonesia less than five months ago. In certain circumstances, the planes’ systems try to tilt their noses down, contrary to the efforts of pilots — a pattern that was seen in both flights before they crashed, he said.

Both Air Canada and WestJet released statements Wednesday saying they would comply with the measure.

“We respect the decision made by Transport Canada and are in the process of grounding the 13 Max aircraft in our fleet,” WestJet said in a news release posted to its website.

They later said on social media that all their aircraft had safely landed.

Air Canada said they would offer full refunds or rebookings for all customers booked to travel on a Max aircraft.

“Given the magnitude of our 737 Max operations, which on average carry (9,000) to 12,000 customers per day, customers can expect delays in rebooking and in reaching Air Canada call centres,” said an Air Canada release.

Aviation experts have warned against drawing conclusions until more information emerges from the crash investigation, however numerous jurisdictions — including China, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union — have grounded the Max 8 or banned it from their airspace.