A member of the Air Canada flight deck inspects the plane before departing from Winnipeg's James Armstrong Richardson International Airport in 2024.

A shortfall of air-traffic controllers in Canada is at times forcing airport towers at Kelowna and Winnipeg airports to close when the one controller on duty goes on a break, according to a memo to Air Canada pilots seen by Reuters.

Air Canada advised its pilots to avoid the two airports in the provinces of British Columbia and Manitoba when staffing shortages are severe enough to shut their air-traffic control towers, the Oct. 14 memo said.

It was unclear how often the airports have been closed and their representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The memo said Nav Canada, which manages the country’s civil air nav

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