Originally Posted by
canadiancow
Would there have been a business reason to do that, like needing aircraft/crew in YKA?
It seems extremely disruptive to move all the pax to a tiny airport where no one wants to be.
No.
YKA was the filed alternate.
The forecast for YYJ may not have been suitable to use as an alternate.
That doesn't mean the crew couldn't have gone back to YYJ. Weather was good enough at the time of diversion.
Flight planned alternates are for planning purposes, not for operational requirements.
New dispatchers/crews can't be bothered to learn the difference.
Stick to the plan mentality. Nothing will go wrong and no one will get in trouble.