TORONTO — The messy winter weather causing flight delays and cancellations across large swaths of Canada and the U.S. is like a lump of coal in the travel industry’s stocking, but at least one frequent flyer will be getting off the ground: Santa Claus.

Canada’s Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, says he’s cleared Santa and his reindeer flight crew for take-off in Canadian airspace.

Minister Alghabra said that in a secure message earlier this week, Santa confirmed that he completed his final test flight of the year and checked that he and the reindeer showed no signs of ******** symptoms before take-off.

Earlier this month, Transport Canada Safety Inspectors cleared Santa’s sleigh for travel. “The Inspectors conducted their stringent safety, communications, and navigations checks, and made sure to test the landing ****. The reindeer even let Safety Inspectors check their harnesses to ensure they were secure for the journey ahead,” according to a statement.

Says Minister Alghabra: “I’m honoured to clear Santa and his reindeer flight crew for travel in Canadian skies this year. When I spoke to Santa, he assured me that everything was ready to deliver gifts to Canadian children. I’d like to wish all Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast a merry Christmas and festive holiday season.”

Santa and his reindeer can be tracked on the NORAD Tracks Santa website, and on Twitter following the #NoradTracksSanta hashtag.