Travel advisory - Flight cancellations to/from Europe

MONTREAL, April 16 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada advises that as a result of the spread of volcanic ash over northern Europe due to volcanic activity in Iceland, a number of European airports have closed and airspace has been restricted until further notice. Flights have been cancelled today to and from the following European airports served by Air Canada: London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Geneva. Air Canada will continue to provide updates on aircanada.com as further information becomes available.

Customers with flights to or from affected areas are advised to check on the status of their flight prior to leaving for the airport by consulting the Air Canada website at aircanada.com, or by calling Air Canada's automated flight information system at 1-888-422-7533, or by using a web-enhanced cell phone.

In order to facilitate changes to travel plans, Air Canada has revised its ticketing policy for customers booked on flights that are subject to cancellation. Those customers wishing to make alternate travel arrangements can do so without penalty, space permitting, by contacting Air Canada Reservations toll free in Canada and the U.S. at 888-247-2262; TTY: 1-800-361-8071 or Air Canada Reservations worldwide. Due to increased call centre volume, wait times will be longer than usual.

Air Canada is closely monitoring the situation and is doing everything possible to accommodate affected customers to get them on their way safely, and as quickly as possible. Due to heavy loads during the Easter holiday season, despite additional flights and larger aircraft that Air Canada will deploy once it is safe to operate, it is expected that it may take several days for travel to resume. Air Canada strongly urges customers who are affected to ensure that their personal contact information is available to Air Canada or their travel agent so that they may be contacted with their revised flight itinerary information once operations are able to resume.

For further information: Isabelle Arthur (Montréal), [phone]; Angela Mah (Vancouver), [phone]; Peter Fitzpatrick (Toronto), [phone]; Internet: aircanada.com