The number of delayed international flights arriving at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport increased 275 times last month compared to April 2019.
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority says it had 2,204 foreign planes on the tarmac last April compared to just eight in the same period before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The shortage of staff at security and customs checkpoints, along with public health protocols, has meant that airport waiting times have skyrocketed as passengers flood the sky after two years. of accumulated demand.
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Over the past month, asphalt delays have often led to the staggered unloading of passengers from a particular aircraft on arrival to ease the load on overflowing terminals. Meanwhile, departing passengers may find themselves waiting for hours to arrive at their door, with scenes of long security queues and stories of lost flights on social media.
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During the second week of May alone, some 18,000 international passengers arriving in Pearson remained on board for more than 30 minutes and 3,000 for more than 75 minutes.
“We demand that the government implement solutions, as the summer season has a forecast increase of almost 50% in international passengers,” authority spokesman Ryan White said in an email.
“Without government intervention to reduce border control and processing times, passengers would face even more congestion and longer delays on board aircraft, a situation that is already unsustainable.”
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The authority, which operates the country’s largest airport, is calling on the federal government to eliminate public health requirements, such as random tests on arrival, and to invest in staff and technology to improve permit times. of passengers.
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In a joint statement, the Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, and the Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino, acknowledged the delays ranging from security checks to the handling of luggage, and noted that the problem does not is exclusive to Canada.
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Transport Canada has set up an “exit control committee” made up of government agencies and industry stakeholders to address bottlenecks at security checkpoints.
The Canadian Air Safety Authority, which manages the airport security inspection, aims to increase the number of control officers, with 400 more staff in various phases of training to be deployed by the end of June. , said the ministers.
“CATSA is very close to having recruited 100% of its target number of control officers for the summer at many airports, including Toronto’s Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport,” he said. press release.
“While more remains to be done, these efforts are bearing fruit with declining waiting times for detection.”
Since May 1, the number of passengers waiting more than 30 minutes for check-out at Canada’s four largest airports, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary, has been halved. add ministers.
Alghabra said earlier this month that other culprits at the stifled checkpoints include off-duty passengers and more last-minute bookings by passengers who are still wary of abrupt public health measures, which puts a key to staff scheduling.
However, the head of the Canada Airport Council says staffing levels are the number one hurdle for airport bottlenecks.
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“The challenge here, the main piece, is manpower, being able to handle those spikes and being agile enough to make it work,” Monette Pasher said earlier this month.
The seating capacity of domestic airlines for May was projected at 85% of 2019 levels, according to council forecasts, and 78% for the national, US and international as a whole. The council predicts that the latter figure will reach 90% in July.
Several airports and the Canadian Air Safety Authority have encouraged passengers to arrive well in advance of departure, and Vancouver International Airport advises them to show up three hours in advance.
© 2022 The Canadian Press