Travel Advisory - Flight cancellations to/from Europe for Tuesday April 20th

MONTREAL, April 20 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada advises that a number of airports remain closed and airspace continues to be restricted as a result of the spread of volcanic ash over Europe due to volcanic activity in Iceland. Flights have been cancelled today to and from the following airports served by Air Canada: London Heathrow, Frankfurt and Munich.

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. Air Canada currently plans to operate tonight's scheduled flights from Canada to Paris, Rome and Tel Aviv. Updates on tomorrow's departures will be provided on aircanada.com as soon as it can be confirmed.

Flights are full and while Air Canada will deploy additional flights and larger aircraft to get passengers to destination as quickly as possible, it is expected that it will take several days to accommodate all customers. 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 flights resume to their destination.

Customers with flights to or from affected airports 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 using Air Canada's self service rebooking tool at aircanada.com, on their mobile device, or 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. To receive a refund for cancelled flights, customers should contact their original point of purchase.

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