Flight cancellations could increase, warns expert, amid airline cuts and rising fares

An industry expert is warning travellers to prepare for possible flight cancellations and rising costs as global tensions begin to affect Canada’s aviation sector.

Speaking to CTV News Channel, McKenzie McMillan of The Travel Group said the impact of the Iran conflict is already being felt, particularly by those using discounted fares and reward bookings.

“It’s going to mostly directly and immediately affect people who are booking companion fares, West jet points, bookings with other airlines as well,” he said.

He added that the situation could worsen if the conflict escalates: “But I think our bigger concern right now is that if this situation does escalate and get worse, we could be looking at more future flight cancelations as airlines reduce service to cut their fuel costs.”

For standard ticket holders, price increases may be less noticeable due to existing fuel surcharges.

“On regular tickets, there’s already a fuel surcharge. Sometimes it can be up to half of what your ticket costs. So, if we do see increases there 60 to $100 or even a little bit more, it probably won’t be too much of an extreme for the paying public,” McMillan said.

He also stressed the importance of insurance, noting recent disruptions left travellers stranded: “That’s just another reason why it’s very important to make sure that you are insuring your travel purchases.”