Cold snap leaves dozens of northern Manitobans stranded in Winnipeg

Dozens are stranded in Winnipeg after their flights home were delayed or cancelled by an airline that serves several Manitoba First Nations.

Margaret Cochrane flew to Winnipeg with her son to take him to a medical appointment a week ago. The pair have been waiting for their flight Perimeter Aviation flight since 8 a.m. Thursday morning.

"It is very stressful," she said.

"If we don't go back today, we've got to go back to the hospital and spend the night there again."

Cochrane's son is ill and spent the day sitting in a waiting room with a surgical mask on his face as their flight was repeatedly delayed.

They've already spent seven nights in a Winnipeg hospital, and Cochrane said she has other children at home, including a one-year-old infant.

Many of the other would-be passengers also came to Winnipeg for medical reasons, said Judy Klassen, leader of the Manitoba Liberals.

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'A lot of frustration'

"There's a lot of frustration," Klassen said. She was at the Perimeter airport to talk to stranded customers, she said.

Some of them have been waiting for a flight out for as long as five days, she said, and aren't getting answers about why.

"Waiting at airports, not getting information from the staff of Perimeter Airlines, which is very unfair. All it would take is an announcement over the PA system to reassure people."

"People are reasonable. All it would take is just a simple explanation," Klassen said.

Other passengers are stuck on various First Nations waiting for flights out of their communities as well, Klassen said.

Klassen said as many as 300 people are affected throughout the province, but Perimeter Aviation president Nick Vodden said the number is much lower — more like 50 to 80.

Vodden said the airline faced "cold-weather issues" on Wednesday and Thursday and schedules were only affected for those two days.

He said the sudden cold snap creates problems for airplanes, which need time to adjust to dropping temperatures.

Vodden said he expects everybody stuck in Winnipeg to be able to go home by the end of Thursday.

"We have a ton of extra capacity tomorrow in case anyone is still in Winnipeg," Vodden said Thursday afternoon.

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Grand Chief Sheila North Wilson is set to meet with the airline on Monday to discuss the service interruptions.

Late last month, the airline apologized to customers for a different round of delays and cancellations.

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