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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Many Air Canada Jazz customers were left out in the cold last week as -40C temperatures forced the company to cancel several flights.

According to company spokesperson Manon Stuart, the Bombardier 50-seat Canadian regional jets (CRJ) that service Yellowknife cannot operate in -40 C temperatures or below.

That caused the airline to ground flights on New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and Friday. Each of the three scheduled flights on Friday were cancelled.

"We had no alternative but to cancel those flights," said Stuart. "On January 2, the weather was -43 C and that was without the wind chill factor."

As compensation, she said customers were given the option to wait for the next available flight or fly at a later date. Several customers had to wait days to get their luggage, which Stuart attributed to more than average volumes of passengers.

There were no flight cancellations on Saturday or Sunday as temperatures returned to normal.

This isn't the first time Jazz has been forced to ground flights due to cold. Last January the airline cancelled several flights because of -40 C temperatures. But Stuart says Air Canada has no plans to upgrade its planes to the larger Boeing 737 model that can withstand colder temperatures. The two other airlines servicing Yellowknife - Canadian North and First Air - use this model.

First Air spokesperson Chris Ferris said the airline took on several stranded Air Canada passengers last week, but wouldn't estimate how many. He says each of its runs servicing Yellowknife were booked solid and, apart for some minor delays, all ran on schedule.

He admits getting the extra customers was a surprising treat.

"Is it going to happen again this winter, who knows?" Ferris said. "We're more than happy to take passengers back on First Air, any time."

Canadian North could not be reached for comment.

Conditions at the Yellowknife Airport last week were good despite the frigid temperatures, said manager Steve Loutitt. He said apart from the negative affect the cold weather had on outdoor mechanical equipment, the runway was kept in excellent condition in part because of a lack of snow and frost.