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Hundreds of calls have come to a Canadian consumer advocate group in the wake of delayed and cancelled Air Canada flights over Christmas, according to media reports.

Storms across much of the country coincided with the usual rush of holiday traffic, leaving Canada's largest air carrier with the task of clearing a backlog of thousands of passengers.

According to Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers' Association of Canada, most callers railed against Air Canada's service rather than the poor weather.

In one case, passengers were stuck on the tarmac for 12 hours at Vancouver International Airport, where all short- and medium-haul flights were cancelled on Christmas Eve.

The airline offered passengers on that flight a $500 voucher.

Also, an Ottawa to Halifax flight was forced to turn back on Dec. 21 during its final descent to the airport, when severe turbulence sent the plane into a steep drop.

Several passengers said they became quite ill during the aborted landing.