Flights continue to be cancelled at the Kamloops Airport because of smoke from wildfires.

Managing director Ed Ratuski spoke to NL News while in Winnipeg, where he is dealing with flight cancellations as he tries to return home.

He says many planes are departing for Kamloops and turning around, when visibility isn’t improving.

“That’s generally what’s been happening in the last three or four days. So we’re just kind of in a wait and see mode, until some of the smoke starts to clear. We were hoping some of the rain would have cleared up, but (it hasn’t) been enough to clear the skies.”

Ratuski says some flights destined for the Tournament Capital have landed in Kelowna instead, and passengers have been put on charter busses to Kamloops.

“We experienced that with both flights destined for here landing in Kelowna, and late last week we had a couple of flights divert from Kelowna to Kamloops. Again, it’s just because of the weather, where it is at each destination.”

He says airlines are taking the smoke situation on an hour-by-hour basis.

“The visibility is not improving at all. The weather forecast, in terms of visibility, is actually forecast to go down again.”

Ratuski says people should check the flight status page online for up-to-date information on flights, which can be found here.

Wildfire smoke also disrupted flights at the Kamloops Airport in July and August of 2017, and August of 2018.