Volcanic ash from Alaska halts 3 WestJet flights out of Regina

Dozens of travellers had to be rebooked on new flights out of the Regina International Airport early Wednesday.

Volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere forced WestJet to cancel some morning flights heading to Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto.

The ash cloud that's moving across North America right now — thanks to a volcano in Alaska — can cause real problems for jet engines, prompting the airline to cancel the flights.

The airline also cancelled at least one flight from Calgary to Regina yesterday afternoon, rebooking passengers on a flight Wednesday morning.

A WestJet spokesperson said the passengers from the three cancelled flights had been transferred onto extra flights the airline will bring in to Regina today in the afternoon and evening.

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An Air Canada spokeswoman said all flights have been operating normally out of Regina for the past 24 hours.

She said that "with the volcano situation, we are indeed monitoring it closely, and will adjust flight paths as required. At this time, we have determined there is no impact to our operations at YQR."

Travellers should check with their airlines before heading out today to ensure all flights are leaving as scheduled.