Toronto Pearson International Airport has “returned to normal”, reopening primary Runway 23 on 23FEB.
Runway 23, the main runway at YYZ, became operational six days after Delta Air Lines Flight 4819 flipped over and caught fire upon landing. The crash occurred following a weekend that saw Canada’s largest city receive more snowfall than it had during all of last winter.
The closure of the runway was the cause of numerous delays and cancellations at YYZ since 17FEB. Some saw aircraft sitting on the tarmac for two to three hours.
However, Runway 15 is still being cleaned up, a YYZ spokesperson said in a 23FEB X post.
“Operations at Toronto Pearson have returned to normal. We have 486 scheduled departing flights and 500 arriving flights at the airport,” the statement said, noting light snowfall was expected throughout the day amid a high of -2C.
“As of 9 a.m., 1% of departing flights and 2% of arrivals have been cancelled by the airlines.”
Twenty-one pax aboard the Delta Airlines Flight 4819 were injured on 17FEB when gusty winds, frigid temperatures and 50cm of snow were already wreaking havoc at YYZ. Video of the plane’s landing showed a wing break off as the plane flipped and caught fire.
The airline has since offered passengers on the flight $30,000 each.
“Delta Care Team representatives are telling customers this gesture has no strings attached and does not affect rights, Grant Myatt, a Delta spokesperson, told the CBC.
The fallout from the crash was felt all of last week, with Sunwing cancelling all of its southbound flights out of Pearson on 19FEB and 20FEB, citing issues with crew availability, hotel capacity and recent disruptions at the airport owing to severe weather.
“People were getting a little upset but it was nothing over, nothing atypical of our airport calls,” the police force told BlogTO. “There are just a lot more cancellations and delays happening with the weather and the crash at Pearson.”
