WestJet outage caused by train derailment; three flights cancelled, 100+ delayed

A navigation system outage that delayed more than 100 WestJet flights on Thursday (July 14) happened because of a train derailment that led to a disruption of fibre lines.  

Nav Canada, which operates Canada’s air navigation system, confirmed that the disruption was connected to one of its telecommunications service providers, Zayo, and as of 12:45 p.m. yesterday, services were returning, according to CBC News.

"We have rerouted a significant volume of traffic via other routes so that our customers can begin resuming normal operations. We regret the inconvenience this has caused for our customers and air passengers, and our top priority is the safety of everyone involved,” the not-for-profit corporation stated.

The train derailment reportedly occurred in Bassano, Alta., some 140 kilometres southeast of Calgary, on Wednesday afternoon.

READ MORE: WestJet reports outage; check-in, flight planning, payment services impacted

WestJet, yesterday morning (July 14), posted an update to it website announcing that its airport check-in, flight planning and payment services on westjet.com were experiencing difficulties. 

By early afternoon, WestJet check-in and gate services nationwide were restored, but self-serve baggage drop continued to experience issues in Calgary, Ottawa, Saskatoon and Halifax.

Systems now stable

The last company update, posted at 11:41 a.m. MT yesterday, revealed that the outage led to three cancellations and more than 100 delayed flights and that self-serve baggage drop was still experiencing issues at Calgary airport. 

Guests heading to YYC were being encouraged to arrive early to have baggage processed by an agent.

“We are working with all external parties to fully resolve and can confirm we are also impacted by the Zayo outage,” WestJet noted. “We continue to thank all guests for their patience and will reaccommodate all impacted guests on the first available flight to ensure they get to their destination as soon as possible.”

In a statement to PAX Friday morning (July 15), WestJet spokesperson Morgan Bell said that "all systems were deemed fully stable by 7 p.m. MT yesterday and the lingering problems were due to the Zayo outage which was impacted by the train derailments."

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