Canadian carrier WestJet is still operating with reduced passenger capacity as it works to return 16 Boeing jets damaged earlier this month by a hailstorm in Calgary.
Following a severe 5 August thunderstorm that battered the Calgary area with baseball-sized hail, WestJet is still issuing “proactive cancellations” as about 10% of its fleet undergoes inspections and repairs, it said on 14 August.
The airline has not issued a specific timeline for returning its aircraft to service. It has determined that the repairs will require sourcing specialised equipment and materials, which will likely take several weeks.
Meanwhile, WestJet is cancelling about 50 flights a day.
Diedrik Pen, chief operating officer of WestJet Group, says that the airline is ”incredibly disappointed that the compounding impacts of last week’s hailstorm continue to disrupt” its operations.
”Our dedicated tech ops teams have travelled from across our network to Calgary and Toronto where they are working around the clock to return our fleet to its full capacity,” he says.
It appears that none of the hail-damaged jets have re-entered WestJet’s network. Cirium fleets data show WestJet has 19 Boeing jets listed as in storage, including a mix of 737-700s, -800s and Max 8s, though not all of those aircraft are grounded due to storm damage. Several 787 Dreamliners were among the damaged jets.
WestJet has experienced a choppy summer of operations. In late June, the Calgary-based carrier was forced to cancel hundreds of flights amid the long Canada Day weekend due to a maintenance workers’ strike.
