Air Canada today reported a strong operational performance to begin the summer travel season.

Approximately 540,000 customers flew with the carrier between May 19 and 22, the May long weekend in Canada that traditionally marks the start of the summer travel season.

“I am very pleased by the performance of our airline during the first long weekend of the summer. We carried heavy loads, with 540,000 customers and our mainline aircraft 95% full on Friday, yet we achieved a flight completion ratio of 98.7% and a solid on-time performance that reached 90 per cent Sunday morning. Although system-wide weather was favourable, we did face several challenges, including wildfires in Western Canada, weather disruptions in the southern U.S. and even a volcano in Mexico that all affected flights,” said Kevin O’Connor, Senior Vice President, Global Airports and Operational Control at Air Canada.

“I thank all our employees for their hard work and dedication to serving our customers and transporting them safely. I also commend our industry partners, upon whom we depend for the air travel system to operate smoothly. While sustained high passenger loads of the season are yet to fully arrive, our success during the first holiday weekend gives us added confidence that we are ready to perform well this summer.”