Storm forces big planes to land in North Bay

A storm hammering eastern Quebec and southern Ontario has caused more than 200 flight delays and cancellations Saturday, and caused some hectic moments at Jack Garland Airport.

North Bay Police Service was called to help out when planes headed for Toronto were forced to land in North Bay around the dinner hour.

“It all started at about 5:30pm,” explains Staff Sergeant Mike Tarini.

“We’ve had 5 flights diverted with about 550 passengers, and one flight with about 120 people came in because their flight had heat problems so customs allowed it.”

Over the past two days 7 flights have been diverted due to the storm and 6 of 7 flights were international. Tarini says the effort went very smoothly and all departments worked well together as they tried to make passengers comfortable.

“The Mayor got involved, the airport staff and they all assisted greatly.”

He explained that several people, who arrived on an earlier flights, lived within the region so they were allowed to deplane, rent cars or make alternate travel arrangements, and continue home, while others were put up a local hotels.

When the NBPS thought the issue was wrapped up, a flight from Montreal arrived with 250 passengers and no space left at the local establishments.

“The last flight was here for 3 hours, they refuelled and were heading back to Montreal, but Montreal is now shutdown, and another issue is that the flight crew is now over their maximum flight hours and can’t fly. Things change just like that.”

“So now the question is where do we put 250 people,” he says.

Tarini says Constable Aaron Northrup quickly contacted the Troy Armouries to house the folks, and then lined up 140 cots and 140 sleeping bags from 22 Wing CFB North Bay, as well as lining up two city buses to transport the passengers.

“Everything is rolling very well here … everyone has been excellent helping out, and the folks with the Canadian Forces get a huge Kudos for all of their support and help.”

Looking back to previous large scale diversions to the city, Tarini credits the presence of customs agents in the city as key to making Saturday’s event a smooth one.

“There are two Canadian Customs agents here now, and that is really helping out big time.”

Once the storms have passed and flights are cleared the passengers will head off to their original destinations.