Weather wreaks another day of havoc at St. John's airport

For the second day in a row, summer travellers looking to fly in and out of St. John's are facing cancellations and delays, causing a logistical nightmare for passengers, airlines and travel agencies.

Since shortly after midnight, a string of arriving and departing flights have been cancelled or delayed at the city's airport.

However, the completion of the airport's secondary runway is expected to alleviate flight congestion.

Poor weather conditions and ongoing maintenance to the runways at YYT have compounded in recent weeks to cause travel headaches right in the middle of the busy July tourist season. 

Officials with the airport authority continue to boast a high percentage of flight arrivals since construction began June 1. However, that is cold comfort for hundreds of passengers that were affected by more cancellations Wednesday morning.

The St. John's region was shrouded in fog early Wednesday, and it was considerably thicker in the area around the airport.

Officials said on Wednesday that construction work on one of the runways was finished, which will ease some of the pressure.

In a statement Wednesday, the airport authority said some flights were able to arrive once the runway was reopened.

"Weather conditions and visibility for the rest of the day are expected to fluctuate around the minimum operating limits for flight operations, therefore impacting flight operations," the statement said.

Heavy fog that had shrouded the St. John's area on Wednesday morning had largely lifted by midday, allowing for greater visibility at the airport. 

• Secondary runway at St. John's airport to open fully Wednesday

The work being done on the runways involves the installation of a new instrument landing system (ILS), which will see new state-of-the-art technology put to use to improve the ability of flights to get in and out of St. John's.

However, for passengers looking at the departures and arrival boards on Wednesday and seeing their flight status turn from grey to red, that was little comfort.

Gander International Airport has seen an influx of travellers as flights have been diverted away from St. John's.

Mayor Claude Elliot said they're frustrated because there are a few hotel rooms, car rentals or taxis available.

"People [have] been there for quite a long time just sleeping on the floor, sitting around and waiting to get out," Elliott told CBC News Wednesday.

"Some family members have driven in from different parts of the province and picked them up and took them home, and people have left one o'clock in the morning to drive from St. John's to Gander to catch a flight."

Travel agencies scrambling to keep up

Local travel agencies are dealing with the fallout of people's flights and vacations being thrown into question.

"The office has been very busy," said Steve Outerbridge, president of Carlson Wagonlit Harvey's Travel.

"In cases like this, we end up having to refund tickets, reissue tickets and try to find alternate routings for people."

As well, he said, many contractors have been busy trying to reroute workers away from St. John's airport on their way to and from different job sites. 

"Our corporate people have been through their paces, but also our leisure people too," he said.

"Even though it's summer, a lot of people still travel to away to visit friends and relatives, weddings, sports groups — all that sort of thing."