MONTREAL — The majority of domestic flights to Canada’s busiest airports have been delayed or canceled over the past week, as the effects of an overstretched international network continue to spread across the country.
According to analytics firm Data Wazo, 54% of flights to four major airports missed their schedule during the seven-day period between June 22 and June 28.
More than 44% of the 4,815 flights were delayed, while 8.5% were canceled altogether.
Toronto Pearson Airport tops the list, with 51% of flights delayed — more than 700 flights — and 12% canceled. Montreal ranks second with 43% of flights late and 15% cancelled. The other two airports were Vancouver and Calgary.
Airlines and the federal government have scrambled to address the endless lines, flight disruptions, lost luggage and daily bustle at airports – especially Pearson – a problem the aviation industry has blamed on a shortage of federal security and customs officers at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA).
John Gradek, director of McGill University’s Integrated Aviation Management program, says carriers have used Ottawa as a “scapegoat” by scheduling more flights than they have staff or aircraft available, resulting in delays and cancellations.
“The airlines have lost some of their energy,” he said. The government reacted and inflated the resources, and it is still chaos.”
Canada’s airport security agency has hired more than 900 screening officers since April, but many are still in training. Ottawa also suspended random COVID-19 testing for vaccinated passengers until at least Thursday, at the insistence of industry players who wanted to process international travelers faster.
Federally regulated passengers and transportation workers are no longer required to be fully immunized to board a plane or train in Canada, or to report for work.
A consequence of global disruptions
Ray Harris, the boss of data firm Data Wazo, of Fredericton, explained that flight statistics showed flight disruptions had not improved in June, despite the halt in testing and the return to work of the staff for the start of the high travel season.
“It didn’t really move the needle one way or the other,” he said in an interview. “Or maybe it sped it up. But in some way the number of passengers has also probably increased and so there is a zero net effect.”
Mr. Harris is one of thousands of Canadians who feel the frustration personally. He was to fly with his girlfriend and three-year-old child to Toronto from Fredericton on June 9 for a four-day getaway. Air Canada canceled its flight 21 hours before departure. The new flight, which included a four-hour layover in Montreal, was also canceled.
“We just went for a ride to Prince Edward Island instead,” he said. I said to myself, well too bad, if I don’t have a vacation, I’m going to build myself a dashboard (of data).”
Philippe Rainville, CEO of Aéroports de Montréal, explained in an interview that global flight disruptions are having a ripple effect on domestic schedules.
“It is a consequence of the delay in international flights, he argued. Delaying a domestic flight is much easier as when flying to major hubs in Europe the time slots are very tight. Domestically, we have a lot more leeway.”
Baggage is a particularly tricky issue, with a shortage of porters to carry suitcases from late arrivals to connecting planes, amid last-minute gate changes.
“It creates a bottleneck and congestion and, to some extent, a nightmare,” Rainville said.
Overruns of “service time”
Problems in one part of the air transport system can disrupt others, for example when overflowing customs areas prevent crews from disembarking, or when a lack of airline customer service agents exacerbates delays.
Planes held up on the tarmac due to congestion in customs areas can cause crew members to exhaust their ‘duty time’ — regulatory and contractual limits on the number of hours worked — leading to shortages of staff. Meanwhile, rebooking after a missed flight due to a long security queue or a delayed connecting flight can take hours because the agents who are supposed to cover the customer service counter are busy. boarding passengers on another delayed aircraft. Baggage handlers face similar problems.
Passengers say they receive last-minute emails informing them of repeated delays, plane changes or new reservations scheduled days after their original departure time. The reasons cited range from absent pilots and overworked baggage handlers to unscheduled mechanical maintenance.
Long security lines also continue to weigh down processing at airports, amid continued staff shortages, from screeners to air traffic controllers.
“There’s not enough. And if you get sick, they get sick too,” said Helane Becker, aviation analyst for financial services firm Cowen.
Air Canada said it continues to hire, with 32,000 employees now on its payroll — approaching its 2019 staffing levels — while its schedule operates at only 80% of 2019 volumes. said carrier spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick.
Fr1
